Many students have taken art courses at the school; however, there are similarities and differences that make these art educators distinct and unique from one another. The school offers a variety of art classes for their students from dealing with clay to designing images on the computer to drawing and painting. Within these courses, students can develop an idea of what art mediums they prefer, and how they want to advance their art career. There are three art teachers located in the south building: Jason Meyer, Jesse VanderBand, and Kris Payton. All three of these educators teach Art 1, but their individual classes dive deeper into their personal interests.

Vanderband specializes in ceramics, sculptures, and graphic design. This makes him a suitable teacher for 3-dimensional Design, Ceramics, and Graphic Design. He has been an art educator for ten years and came to Hudsonville four years ago, making him the newest art teacher at the school. When he first began working here he was assigned to 3-D Design and Graphic Design. However, he eventually wrote the proposal for ceramics and has been teaching it for three years. Vanderband said, “Anyone who is looking to get their hands dirty, be in a class up and moving around, and looking for an artistic outlet,” should be taking his classes. 

On the other hand, Meyer has been teaching art in the district for 24 years, which makes him the face of the art department. His classes deal with 2-dimensional art mediums such as pencil and paint. He primarily focuses on drawing because of his personal connection with sketching people such as his family and people at church. When he came to the school he was assigned to 2-dimensional Design, Art 2 Painting, Art 2 Drawing, and Art 3 and last year he added Adapted Art to his courses. Meyer molded the old curriculum for all his classes to better match his persona. “It didn’t fit my personality or art style, I felt it needed to be revamped,” said Meyer. His classes follow a step-by-step process with each class being a prerequisite for the next advanced class, except for 2-Dimensional Design. 

Similarly, Payton has been teaching at the school for 15 years but has actively been an art teacher for 22 years. She is the instructor of the more craft-focused courses, including Digital Photography and Practical Applications. Both of these classes were developed by Payton, and have been popular electives at the school because it gives creative students the ability to choose their own course of action. “The nice thing about Practical Applications is that you do not have to be able to draw or paint, pretty much anyone can take these classes, even if they’re not into the fine arts they can still be successful,” said Payton.