Friday afternoon, elementary, middle and high school art teachers were hard at work displaying more than 300 pieces of their students’ work at Chelsea Center for the Arts.
They found spots for ceramics, paintings, drawings, Pecos River Rock Art, masks, batiks, chalk art, and metal media in rooms, in hallways and on tables.
The community has an opportunity to see all the art work on Sunday, April 14, from 1-3 p.m. during the opening reception for the annual K-12 student art showcase at the 400 Congdon St. art center.
Penny Olsen, the K-5 art teacher, said, “I go through each teacher’s art box and look for outstanding work,” when asked how she chose which pieces to put on display.
In total, there are about 200 pieces created by elementary school children — among them are ceramics, masks. dolls, calligraphy, paintings, foil work, batik paper and weaving. Plus, there’s cultural art, “unexpected animals” and printmaking.
Kerry Kargil, high school art teacher, said in choosing what to display, “I look for a variety of work and try to include a lot of students’ work.”
He said there are about 60 high school pieces on display.
Art is an elective for high school students, while for the elementary students, it is an activity they all participate in once a week.
Kim Eder, middle school art teacher, said she brought about 100 pieces.
She said she looked for “uniqueness and execution of the media” when choosing which ones would be included.
The student art show has had many homes during its about 30-year history — from the high school to downtown business windows — but for the last 10 years, it’s been displayed at CCA.
The variety and quality is amazing – please make the time to wander around and see just how talented and creative these students are.
If you can’t make it Sunday, the exhibit will be on display Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through April 25.
