This dog, Juniper, won best in show. Left to right: Students Marguerite Godwin and Julia Johannsen and Administration Assistant Julie Rosenau. Photo provided by Christina Carroll
McLean High School students honored their high school in a “goofy” way: By sculpting Scottie dogs.
The Scottish Terrier breed is a nod toward their mascot: The Highlander, a soldier in historic regiments of Scotland’s military.
“I just had this idea to have something fun and lighthearted that would kind of bring our community together,” says Christina Carroll, who teaches art in the high school’s Fine Arts Department. “So much of high school is very serious. This was a little goofy and we had some fun.”
Students in her foundational Art 1 class had to mold their sculptures according to different themes they selected.
“They were beginner students, but the stuff they did was pretty advanced,” Carroll says.
The students spent two months making their creations by casting them in packing tape, stuffing them with cardboard and paper, coating them in plaster and impregnated gauze and finishing them with coats of paint, according to Carroll.
The students also had to adopt out their sculptures to teachers who were willing to take on the dogs.
A dog show is on display in the high school’s main office through spring break before the dogs go to their forever homes in their teachers’ classrooms.