HOISINGTON — . With her unique look at life, Hoisington artist Christina Lamoureaux creates artwork that not only is beautiful and encourages the individual thought process, but also tells a story. She has exhibited her work in galleries.
Also a teacher, her work is on display at Hoisington Main Street Inc., 115 N. Main, and is always on display on Main Street with the train mural depicting the roots of the city. She designed and organized painting of the mural breaking each section down on graph paper. Helpers were assigned to paint each square.
Although the artist began her career in college by drawing people in the mall, she moved on to painting. She has now started working on her second master’s degree in sculpture at Ft. Hays State University to, she said, to continue to stretch herself. Her first master’s degree was in print making and lithographs.
She takes her own photographs and has become fascinated with the birds of Cheyenne Bottoms, implementing them into her work. "Taking your own photographs hooks you on a deeper level and becomes a part of who you are if it is something you wouldn’t normally connect to," she said.
Lamoureaux is now working with clay to stretching her in a new direction, keeping her fresh and reinventing her story. She also goes to workshops for the same reason.
Although she grew up in France and Spain while her father was in the Air Force, she is thriving in central Kansas. She bicycles which allows her to enjoy the smells the prairie and the flowers. "I just like it," she said. "You’ll find beauty in it."
Her first job after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in education was in Claflin where she taught for six years. She then moved on to Hoisington where she has worked for 19 years.
Another passion the artist has is being a teacher. "I love being a teacher," she said. Each year for the past 13 years, she has drawn a picture of each of the seniors who each receive the original. She has a book with all of the pictures in it.
HHS student Kim Harper said, "I absolutely art. We experience so many new, fun things."
Another student Jalisa Applebee agreed. "I just like her. She is easy to talk to and always there to help."
Lamoureaux’s biggest reward though, has been motivating some of her students to become teachers, she says.
"Christina Lamoureaux is an extremely talented art instructor with her own special passion as an artist," said Hoisington High School Principal Meg Wilson. "She has a real love for teaching art and has high expectations for her students’ to also learn to appreciate the subject and develop their skills.
"Christina takes a sincere interest in building the individual relationships with her students as she models her positive professional attributes through her lessons and pleasant attitude," added Wilson. "We are fortunate to have such a talented instructor for our high school students to benefit."
