This October is proving to be gorgeous, and at CA we’re lucky enough to have a front-row seat to the fall colors, thanks to the plethora of mature trees on campus. Earlier this week, Upper School students were creating leaf piles during lunch that they could jump through. It was sweet to see our oldest students rediscovering the playfulness that our youngest students typically engage in.

We’re lucky to have such a vibrant, open campus.

There is a new form of vibrancy taking shape at the Upper School this week, as Karen Donald’s photography students engage in their final collaborative project of the trimester. Inspired by the artist JR, Ms. Donald’s students have begun covering sections of our outdoor campus with portraiture of themselves—these black and white prints cover the pillars outside the Campus Center, the steps of the Schotters Music Center, the stone fence outside the Ponzio Arts Center, and the brick wall leading to the entrance of the Upper School. These self-portraits are big, captivating, and engaging; each student was to post an image that could draw attention, raise awareness, or start a conversation.

As outdoor pieces, these images will endure the winter and engage the eye long after we’ve all moved inside to escape the cold. Our photography students know, of course, that, over time, their work will fade away. It will be interesting to see how the meaning of their public pieces changes as the elements deteriorate the paper and paste holding them together. My suspicion is that it will offer our campus a lovely lesson about how impermanence and beauty can intersect.

Next time you’re here on campus, please look for these pieces. I’m sure you’ll find more than one image that speaks to you.