Pekin Art

10/16/2026

🍔🍕🍩 Art That Looks Good Enough to Eat!

Our Pekin Seventh Grade Exploratory Art students have been serving up some creativity with their latest project—Pop Art–inspired food sculptures!

After exploring the work of famous Pop Artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Richard Hamilton, and Claes Oldenburg, students took a closer look at how everyday foods reflect American culture. Then, they turned their favorite food ideas into miniature works of art!

Using Sculpey clay, aluminum foil, and acrylic paints, students worked through the process of building, sculpting, baking, and painting their creations. Special attention was given to texture, color, and detail to make each sculpture look as realistic as possible.

The finished pieces are a great example of how ordinary, everyday objects can become extraordinary works of art. And while they may look delicious, they're definitely not on the menu!

Take a look at the creativity and craftsmanship of our talented seventh-grade artists! 🎨👏



Pekin Schools

10/08/2026

✏️ Turning Shapes into Forms: Exploring Light, Shadow, and Value! 🎨

Our High School Painting and Drawing Pekin Art students have been exploring how artists use graphite pencils, drawing techniques, and shading to create the illusion of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface.

Students began by practicing a variety of drawing techniques, including hatching, cross-hatching, blending, rendering, random lines, and stippling. They then explored how light interacts with geometric forms and how different values—from bright highlights to deep shadows—help create depth and realism.

For their value study, students observed white geometric forms illuminated by a single light source. Using only graphite pencils, they worked to capture highlights, midtones, core shadows, reflected light, and cast shadows to transform simple shapes into convincing three-dimensional drawings.

This lesson challenged students to slow down, observe, and recognize how something as simple as light and shadow can dramatically change the way we see and represent objects.

Sometimes, creating the illusion of three dimensions only takes a pencil, paper, and a little understanding of light! Pekin Schools

09/28/2026

🕊️ Creating Art for Peace! 🎨

Our seventh-grade Exploratory Art students have been busy creating posters for the Fairfield Lions Club Peace Poster Contest!

This year’s theme, “Harmony in Humanity,” challenged students to think about how people from different backgrounds and cultures can live together peacefully, celebrate their differences, find common ground, and create harmony.

One of the things we value in the Pekin Art classroom is finding opportunities for students to connect what they are learning in class with the communities around us. This project gave our seventh graders a chance to use their creativity and artistic skills to participate in a community program and create artwork with a purpose and an audience beyond our classroom.

Students developed their own original ideas and transformed them into colorful and meaningful works of art. It was great to see the many different ways they interpreted the theme and used visual art to communicate their ideas about peace, unity, and harmony.

A big thank-you to the Fairfield Lions Club for providing this opportunity for our students and for helping us build connections between our classroom and our community!

Great work, Pekin artists! 🦁🎨🕊️

Pekin Schools

09/23/2026

Kicking off the year in Advanced Art with some amazing work! These are the first projects of the year, and they show such fun creativity— from bold character designs to playful mashups. So proud of our students for starting strong. Pekin Schools

09/23/2026

🌿 From Observation to Artwork! 🌿

Our Pekin artists have been learning to really see through a series of contour drawing exercises. From Vase Faces and Monster Vase Faces to upside-down drawings and blind contours, each activity challenged students to slow down, look closely, and trust their eyes.

For their Final Modified Contour Plant Drawings, students took those skills to the next level. They carefully observed a plant still life, drawing primarily from what they saw—not from what they thought they saw. After completing their drawings in pencil, they transformed them with black marker, using changes in line width to create areas of emphasis, light, and dark.

The result? Bold, expressive plant drawings filled with personality and incredible detail! 🌿🖤

We’re proud of the patience, focus, craftsmanship, and creativity our students brought to this project. Take a look at some of their fantastic finished pieces! 🎨

Pekin Schools

09/09/2026

❤️ Thank You, Pekin Community! 🐾

Mr. Guise and the Pekin 5–12 Art Department would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the anonymous community member who generously donated art supplies to our classrooms.

Your generosity means so much to our students and our art program. With school budgets becoming increasingly stretched, donations like this help us provide students with the materials they need to create, explore, experiment, and grow as artists.

We may not know who you are, but please know that your kindness is making a difference in our students' lives. We truly appreciate your support of Pekin Art!

Thank you for helping us keep creativity alive in our classrooms! 🎨❤️🐾

— Mr. Guise & the Pekin 5–12 Art Department Pekin Schools

08/26/2026

Mr. Guise and the Pekin 5–12 Art Department would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Pekin Girls Basketball Coach and Associate Neil Hartz and his wife, Kamryn, for their incredibly generous donation of ceramic clay to our art classrooms!

As we begin a new school year, our classrooms continue to face shortages of some much-needed art supplies. Every donation, big or small, makes a meaningful difference and helps ensure our students have the materials they need to create, learn, and grow as artists.

If you would like to support the Pekin Art Department, please consider purchasing an item from our Amazon Wish List and having it donated directly to our classrooms.

Thank you to everyone who supports arts education and helps us provide the best possible opportunities for our students! 🎨❤️🖤Pekin Schools

08/07/2026

🎨 Pekin Art Classroom Wish List 🎨

The Pekin Art program is always growing, and we’re looking for a little help from our amazing community. With school budgets continuing to tighten, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep our classroom stocked with the materials students rely on every day. Your support right now can make a real and immediate impact.

If you’re interested in supporting our students, here is a link to our Amazon Wish List.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3PLR2OQG6EF?ref_=wl_share

These materials go directly into the hands of our students and help bring their creativity to life in the classroom.

If you’d like to donate, purchase an item, or learn more, please reach out to me directly.

We are also looking for anyone interested in helping start an Art Boosters Program to support our students and program long-term. If that’s something you’d like to be part of, I would love to connect!

Thank you for supporting Pekin Art and our students! ❤️❤️❤️Pekin Schools

08/07/2026

🎨 Pekin Art Classroom Wish List 🎨

The Pekin Art program is always growing, and we’re looking for a little help from our amazing community. With school budgets continuing to tighten, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep our classroom stocked with the materials students rely on every day. Your support right now can make a real and immediate impact.

If you’re interested in supporting our students, here is a link to our Blick Art Wish List.

These materials go directly into the hands of our students and help bring their creativity to life in the classroom.

If you’d like to donate, purchase an item, or learn more, please reach out to me directly.

We are also looking for anyone interested in helping start an Art Boosters Program to support our students and program long-term. If that’s something you’d like to be part of, I would love to connect!

Thank you for supporting Pekin Art and our students! ❤️❤️❤️ Pekin Schools

04/29/2026

Yearbook School Cameras for Sale. Pekin Schools

GovDeals' online marketplace provides services to government, educational, and related entities for the sale of surplus assets to the public. Auction rules may vary across sellers.