Ms. Macaulay and Ms. Calamari-Kirwan, two long-time members of the visual art faculty, spent some time away from the classroom last school year while on sabbatical. While they were greatly missed at Winsor, both teachers created a lot of art in their time away from the school, some of which was on view in the Admissions Hallway in September. The Banner had the opportunity to interview them about their experiences.

After cataract surgery at the beginning of her sabbatical impacted her vision, Ms. Macaulay took inspiration from the 2024 Winsor community art project based on artist Jacob Hashimoto’s ‘kites’ and stayed creative by making collages from her old artwork. Thankfully, Ms. Macaulay recovered in time for her to join one of her favorite photographers, Kate Breakey, for a week-long workshop in Tucson, Arizona. There, she learned to “take photos, manipulate them in Photoshop and Lightroom so that they feel more like paintings, print them on Japanese mulberry paper, and hand-color them with oil paint, colored pencil and pastel.” 

Ms. Cal experimented with a variety of mediums during her sabbatical, including acrylic painting, watercolor illustrations, mixed media drawings, and digital photography. She found inspiration in her travels to Italy, Canada, and Ireland, and hikes around New England’s state parks. She also aimed to maintain a consistent creative practice throughout her time off. In order to do so, she joined a “January Daily Artist Challenge” on social media and “absolutely loved being a part of such a positive and supportive community. [She] ended up participating in several other art challenges after!”  

Both teachers are excited to return to the Winsor classrooms this year and focus on the iterative process of art making through sketchbook practice and cultivation of curiosity.