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Coal City High School recently hosted a workshop for art students from the Illinois Central Eight Conference, focusing on the relationship between art and science. The event explored how artists have historically used optical devices such as the sighting grid, Dürer’s Door, and the camera lucida to blend technology with creative expression.
During the workshop, each participant constructed a working camera lucida drawing machine to take home. Students experimented with these tools to better understand historical techniques in seeing and sketching. The session highlighted ongoing innovation in artistic methods and its impact on visual perception.
Coal City High School is part of Coal City Community Unit School District 1, which serves Grundy and Will counties and includes several schools such as Coal City Early Childhood Center, Coal City Elementary School, Coal City Intermediate School, and Coal City Middle School (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). According to recent data from the Illinois State Board of Education, the district employs 153 teachers who earn an average salary of $69,297; about 78 percent are women and just over 22 percent are men. No teacher in the district has more than ten absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
The student population within Coal City Community Unit School District 1 is predominantly White at nearly 87 percent, with Hispanic students making up almost 10 percent; Black and Asian students each account for less than one percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, spending per student was $21,619, amounting to a total expenditure of $47 million for that year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
The workshop provided students an opportunity to engage directly with both historical practices and new ways of thinking about drawing through technological aids.
