Rising art educators and students

Published 9:53 am Sunday, February 1, 2026

If a local illustration of benefits and wisdom associated with art teaching were to be needed, a fine one can be found in the efforts of Lindi Palmer at St. Patrick Catholic School, on the west side of Meridian’s historic downtown.

An 11-year teaching veteran at St. Patrick, a small but distinctive school founded in 1873 (their slogan is “where faith and knowledge meet”), Palmer comes from an art-sensitive family. She looks for ways of incorporating visual art projects in her English Language Arts classes.

Palmer sees how students, facing rigid standards in other academics, relax and thrive – often creating a “happy mess” — when allowed to freely experiment with an art form, be it oil pastels or watercolor or mixed-medium. And she takes care to link a hands-on artistic challenge to history or another subject.

“We study their (artists’) techniques and try to incorporate them into the artwork we produce,” Palmer said during a lunch break this week. “Any time I can incorporate art, I’m going to try my best.”

I became curious about Palmer’s teaching after seeing art pieces by two students associated with St. Patrick and Palmer hanging among nearly 60 in a long first-floor hallway at Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center. The pieces by Italy Oregon, a sixth-grader at St. Patrick last year, and a current sixth-grader, Valentina Espino, were among my favorites.

Oregon’s abstract oil pastel of an Aztec sun was created during a study of past civilizations, while Espino’s color pencil depiction of a Viking ship was connected to discussion of that seafaring group, Palmer said.

The evolving hallway art exhibit at Baptist Anderson is part of the Meridian Museum of Art’s “Rising to the Top” program, which highlights pieces created by promising young artists from area schools and other programs, including the museum’s own School of Art.

The diversity of schools and other entities represented is remarkable, including Meridian High, West Lauderdale High, Enterprise High, Northeast High, Magnolia Middle, Southeast Middle, West Lauderdale Elementary, Anchor Christian Academy, Davidson Classical Conversations, a few homeschool programs, Dana Casey Art and, of course, St. Patrick.

A major hospital such as Baptist Anderson is a gathering point for stress and worry, as well as a place of healing. It’s just the place for a student art display that offers joyful distraction and perhaps inspiration. Longtime Museum of Art supporter and mural artist Kris Gianakos has played a lead role in the “Rising to the Top” initiative, said the museum’s director, Kate Cherry.

Cherry estimates the hospital display, which includes photographs as well as drawings and paintings, is seen by 10,000 people yearly. And the public exposure resonates with the dozens of budding artists, she said.

“I think they hold on to that,” Cherry said. “For a child to see their work hanging on the wall, it’s a pretty big deal.”

Kudos to art educators, the museum and the hospital for pulling off and sustaining this unique partnership.

I’ve always been perplexed at the notion – sometimes touted during debates about education spending – that school art initiatives should be treated as non-essential “electives.” As a former MAX art museum staffer who tracks quality-of-life issues, I believe such initiatives are essential in some form. They help to complete the education picture and add meaning to school days.

And perhaps some of these young artists, Oregon and Espino included, will become an art-world sensation one day.

Coleman Warner is a journalist and cultural historian, and can be contacted at legacypress.warner@gmail.com.