Eliza Bufferd While many students only know Mr. Marshall as a teacher—one that helps students thrive in both History and English—many are unaware of his secret talent: drawing. Currently, Mr. Marshall’s work is displayed in Gallery 2, entitled “New Works Inspired by Brush Creek, Wyoming.” Mr. Marshall’s drawings are sometimes abstract, but in some of the pieces he gets his ideas from, “ patterns [he] sees [on] broken sidewalks, peeling paint, graffiti, warped trees, scattered leaves, [his] subconscious…” Mr. Marshall uses the world around him to put a creative spin on his pieces. Sometimes he says his work is started with “shapes [he] likes to make” and then he becomes completely “improvisational.” Many artists get annoyed when they make mistakes and feel the need to start over. Though his works are abstract and it is hard to see a mistake, Mr. Marshall said that at the beginning of his drawing process he hates his work and wants to destroy it. At this time he will usually tell himself, “Well, if it’s already ruined, there’s no harm in trying to do something else with it.” This mindset motivates him to will make him add more colors, shapes, lines to try and hide the mistake. Mr. Marshall also uses the motivation, that many art teachers use, “there are no mistakes in art.” Mr. Marshall has many pieces in Gallery 2 that are intricate, but when asked about his favorite drawing he said, “[he is] only happy with about a third of what [he] produce[s]” so the pieces shown “are a select subset, usually [his] favorites in some category.” Additionally, his favorite thing about his drawings is their ability to engage the viewer. Even though Mr. Marshall’s favorite piece to ponder is called “Petroglyph,” he does not have just one favorite because he “want[s] to keep making art!” There are many artists at Latin and there are many people who would love to call themselves artists.  Mr. Marshall encourages people to get into drawing by doodling. Just “ put the pen tip on the page and draw a curve or a circle or an arrow, and you’re off.” Artists take inspiration from art around us. Mr. Marshall usually finds ideas within fabrics, book covers, or designs he “encounters daily.” Mr. Marshall also encourages people to use Instagram art accounts for inspiration as long as they “can keep your envy under control, you’ll find diverse inspiration there.” Mr. Marshall spent a long time building this collection, which he will explain and discuss in detail during his reception in Gallery 2 on Thursday, November 29 between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM. ]]>