Carving Out Time for Art and Connection

Staff Art teachers look on as Indigenous artist Dylan Thomas carves a cedar plank

For Chris Bateman ’94, one of the most valuable parts of bringing St. Michaels University School’s art teachers together is discovering how much they already share.

“There seems to be a real connection to what we prioritize and why we do the job,” said Bateman, Head of the Art Department in the Senior School.

That shared purpose guided this year’s professional development day for the school’s six art teachers. Organized by Bateman, the gathering combined a facilitated planning session and an afternoon of carving and learning alongside Coast Salish artist Dylan Thomas.

In 2023, the SMUS community gathered in ceremony around the 12-foot Welcome Post at the Junior School, the first pole Thomas carved. The following year, the community came together again to welcome his second at the Richmond Road campus.

“It was a big moment for my career. Doing my first two large sculptures was huge,” Thomas said during his return visit. “It opened up doors for me and my personal career. So coming back here is always special.”

Connecting the Student Experience

Building on last year’s examination of the art curriculum across Junior, Middle and Senior School, teachers explored opportunities for joint projects and sharing student work with wider audiences.

For Junior School art teacher Brittany Cutler, understanding what comes next helps inform what happens in her classroom today.

“It’s interesting for me as the Junior School teacher to get a better idea of where they’re going in Middle School and Senior School,” said Cutler.

The discussions helped teachers identify shared priorities, consider potential barriers to collaboration and explore who could help bring their ideas to life.

Staff Art Teachers pose with their carvings

Learning to Share the Knowledge

Thomas’s return continued a relationship that began when the Lyackson First Nation artist became SMUS’s inaugural Indigenous Scholar in 2021. His teaching and artwork, including the school’s four spindle whorls and carved welcome sculptures, remain part of students’ experiences across both campuses.

Through hands-on cedar carving and examples of historical and contemporary work, teachers deepened their understanding of Coast Salish design. Thomas also gifted them a lesson framework they could adapt for different ages, allowing the learning to reach beyond those in the room.

For Cutler, learning directly from Indigenous artists provides valuable guidance.

“I’ve been really grateful that at this school we actually get to work with Indigenous artists, because it makes a big difference to actually hear it from people,” she said.

Four framed drawings of spindle whorl inspired art made by Grade 5s hangs on a wall

Making Personal Connections Through Art

A recent Junior School project illustrates how students can respond to that learning through their own ideas.

Ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony, interested Grade 5 students worked with Cutler to create artwork inspired by the circular format of a spindle whorl and, more specifically, the four that Thomas carved to reinterpret the school's Values. Each chose a school value, respect, courage, honesty or service, and expressed its personal meaning through their own imagery and materials.

Working independently or together, students returned at lunchtime over about a week and a half to complete their pieces. The finished works were displayed on Junior School walls and at the ceremony.The project gave students a way to connect the values represented in Thomas’s artwork with their own experiences.

Overall, the day gave teachers a clearer sense of how their work connects, from the skills students develop in Junior School to the possibilities awaiting them in the Middle and Senior Schools. With shared goals and lessons gifted by Thomas, teachers return to their classrooms with new ideas and colleagues to help develop them.

Read more:

In 2025, SMUS worked closely with Elders Bill White and Ogwi’low’gwa Kim Recalma-Clutesi of the Qualicum Nation to produce a short documentary offering a glimpse into how SMUS students, staff and educators are deepening their understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, and perspectives, and how those lessons are shaping our school community. Watch the documentary