OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA -- Scratching the surface.
That's the first step in etching, and teaching.
A year ago Geary High School art teacher Rachel Adam's students thought of her class in terms of adding layers like paint to a surface.
Rachel brought her juniors and seniors to Artspace at Untitled in Oklahoma City to help them find a deeper understanding of what art can be.
"There's artistic way to learn new techniques and also culturally," says Adams.
Gallery owner Laura Warriner was so taken with this group of mostly Native American, mostly low-income kids that she adopted them.
They started coming to her print studio once a month for classes.
Warriner also wanted to expose them to other artists' work.
She says, "We're trying to give them that kind of experience to let them know there are other options out there."
Fine lines and layers.
The more you make, the better the etching.
Alissa Sweezey and Kaylee Scanlan didn't know their surroundings might influence their art.
Scratching the surface, for them, changed their whole outlook.
"I know I can do a lot of stuff now," says Scanlan.
Sweezey adds, "At school we did art concentration pieces and I had no clue until I came here."
One of the interesting aspects of city life is the number of people thrown together in a concentrated space.
Think of tall buildings as multiple layers.
These students from small town Geary become part of this community once a month which opens a whole new world, for them, just by scratching the surface.
For more information about the Artspace and Untitled gallery go to http://www.artspaceatuntitled.org