Center Moriches educator 'exploded' the art department with color

Kathryn Phillips likes to add a pop of color to her students’ day.

Phillips, an art teacher at Clayton Huey Elementary School in the Center Moriches school district, is in her 12th year of teaching and her second at the K-5 school, which has almost 600 students.

After arriving at Clayton Huey, Phillips took a look around the art room and decided it needed some sprucing up.

So she and her students got to work, painting the furniture in bright colors. Phillips, who is adviser to the school’s art club, also had its members paint a mural of geometric shapes on one wall. That includes the phrase “Every child is an artist.”

“She completely exploded the room with color,” said Pam Basile, a music and band teacher at the school who works with Phillips.

Phillips’ approach extends beyond a colorful classroom. Nicole Fernandez, Clayton Huey’s principal, described Phillips as “very creative” and “charismatic.”

“She makes art fun so the kids can create great works of art,” Fernandez said.

Phillips’ art club students design and paint the sets for the school musicals. This year, they’re collaborating with Basile’s music students on a project that brings art and music together: Members of the Young Composers Club will write original pieces inspired by artwork, and her students will create visual art based on the music.

Phillips also involves the staff. Each year they decorate a small square of paper that she assembles into a large artwork.

This year they completed works based on paintings by Keith Haring, Wassily Kandinsky and 18th- and 19th-century Japanese artist Hokusai.

“She gets everyone involved, everyone loving art,” Basile said.

Even Fernandez got a hands-on lesson in painting “happy little trees” after admiring a Bob Ross poster on the art room door.

Phillips, 36, of Rocky Point, holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history from Stony Brook University and a master’s degree in art education from Long Island University in Brookville. She paints and draws and is a member of the Moriches Bay Art Alliance. Two of her paintings of the northern lights are part of a show on display at Brookhaven Town Hall.

For Phillips, making art is “my most comfortable place.” She encourages her students to trust the process, reminding them that creating art should not be a stressful experience.

“I tell them on the first day that this should never be overwhelming,” she said.

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