The children at Tillman House know that when the Whitefield Academy art students arrive, something fun is about to happen.
There may be paint. There may be paper. There may be face painting, craft supplies, or ceramic piggy banks. More than anything, there is the joy of older students sitting beside younger ones, helping them create something of their own.
It is the kind of moment Whitefield’s Fine Arts Department hopes students will carry with them long after the paint dries.
At Whitefield, fine arts are about learning technique, developing discipline, and pursuing excellence. Students rehearse, practice, study, perform, and create. But they are also encouraged to understand something deeper: artistic gifts become more meaningful when they are shared.
For students in Whitefield’s Middle School National Junior Art Honor Society, that lesson has come to life through an ongoing relationship with Tillman House, a ministry of Smyrna First United Methodist Church that serves individuals and families in need.
The partnership began in 2022 through Middle School Art Teacher Kim Machnik, who had a personal connection to Smyrna First United Methodist Church and learned more about the work Tillman House was doing with local children. That simple idea has grown into a tradition.
Twice a year, Whitefield students visit Tillman House with art projects for the children in its after-school program. Over time, those visits have included hands-on crafts, face painting, holiday activities, and plenty of encouragement as younger students create.
Upper School art students have also joined in, helping with homework, Christmas party activities, and special craft projects. At one end-of-school-year celebration, Whitefield students helped children paint ceramic piggy banks.
For Kim, the value of the partnership is easy to see.
“The young children love our students coming to create art with them,” she says. “Our Whitefield students benefit from serving the community as well as understanding how important it is to put others ahead of self, but also to share their God-given creative gifts.”
That phrase — sharing creative gifts — captures the heart behind Whitefield’s fine arts program.
The students are not simply completing a project or volunteering for a few hours. They are learning how creativity can become connection. They are learning how art can soften a room, start a conversation, and help someone feel seen. Sometimes service looks like pulling up a chair, handing a child a paintbrush, and saying, “Let’s make something together.”
Kim says the experience has become especially meaningful for her students.
“It has been so rewarding for my NJAHS students every time we go,” she says. “They see the joy in the children’s faces when they arrive. Every year, I love hearing them say how excited they are to go back or to be the new eighth grade NJAHS members that ‘get to go.’”
That little phrase says a lot. They do not have to go. They get to go.
For Fine Arts Director Steve Henson, that spirit reflects the broader mission of fine arts at Whitefield Academy. Students are encouraged to identify and develop their God-given creative gifts while pursuing excellence in both product and performance. They are also invited to see those gifts as something that can serve others.
“When they can develop their gifts while serving and engaging with others, everyone benefits,” Steve says.
That same idea shows up beyond the visual arts classroom.
Throughout the year, Whitefield music students take their talents into the community as well. Band students have performed at retirement communities, civic events, churches, community celebrations, and Smyrna Little League Opening Day. Choir students have shared their voices at Braves games and Smyrna’s annual Tree Lighting Ceremony.
In each setting, the details may be different, but the purpose feels connected.
A jazz standard can bring back a memory. A familiar holiday song can gather a crowd. A national anthem can turn a spring morning at the ballpark into something more meaningful. Music, like visual art, reaches across age, background, and experience.
For students, those moments offer lessons that cannot be fully taught in a classroom. They learn to read a room. They learn to notice the people in front of them. They learn that art is not only about how beautifully something is made or performed. It is also about how generously it is offered.
At Whitefield Academy, fine arts students are learning to create with confidence and purpose. They are learning the discipline of practice and the courage of performance. They are also learning that their gifts can brighten someone’s day, lift a spirit, bring generations together, and remind people they are not forgotten.
Sometimes art hangs on a wall. Sometimes it is played from a stage. Sometimes it is sung under twinkling lights in the middle of town.
And sometimes, it is found in the smile of a child holding a freshly painted piggy bank, proud of what they made and happy that someone showed up to make it with them.
That may be the most beautiful kind of art of all.
“At Whitefield Academy, students are learning that their gifts can brighten someone’s day, lift a spirit, and bring generations together.”
“The students are not simply completing a project or volunteering for a few hours. They are learning how creativity can become connection.”
Learn More
Whitefield Academy’s Fine Arts program helps students grow as artists, performers, and creative leaders. Learn more at whitefieldacademy.com/arts/fine-arts.
Whitefield Academy
1 Whitefield Drive SE
Smyrna, GA 30126
(678) 305-3000
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