Saturday, January 16, 2010

Lubec Student Winter Art Show

Student artwork on exhibit at Lubec Memorial Library through January 2010

Bear, conte, grade 11

Sunflowers, tempera paint, grade 1

Collage drawing, conte, charcoal, pen, pencil, grade 11

Bike, watercolor, color pencil, acrylic paint, ink, grade 10

lighthouse, tempera paint, grade 1

Self-portrait, charcoal, grade 11

monet waterlily painting, grade K /Self-portrait grade K/ Self portrait, grade 4/ Self-portrait, grade 4/ Scarecrow, grade 3

Sunflower painting, grade Kindergarten

Mandalas by Grade 8

Giraffe, watercolor pencils, grade 5

Henna designs, ink, watercolor, color pencil, grade 7

Every January for the past few years, Lubec Memorial Library has played host to a student art exhibit. I traditionally spend the days preceding Christmas vacation sorting through hundreds of colorful pieces to jury about forty items into the show. It's a difficult task in that there are so many incredible artworks and so little space to hang!

It is an honor for a student to be included in this exhibit because of the fact that only a limited number of works make it to the final cut. And not only that, since each grade is included in this exhibit, there are only 2-4 students typically chosen per classroom. It furthers the difficulty in my selection in that I cannot choose every schoolwide favorite piece of mine to be in this show, rather it is a selection of the top from each class. I am also sure to include a mix of artworks from each grade level by both boys and girls. And one more dimension to the slection process, sometimes it is about choosing pieces that will work well together.

Inevitably, some students feel disappointment in not being selected, and parents wonder why their child was not chosen as well. This is one of a few "juried" shows that we participate in each year. As with many "competitions", numbers are limited. However, I do make sure that each child proudly displays their work at some point during the year, most times more than once. Bulletin boards line the halls filled with grade level art projects, each month the principal selects an artowrk from each grade for recognition, the Women's Club Federation hosts a high school competition, the West Quoddy Visitor Center sells student artwork, and last year the McCurdy Smokehouse ran a student art exhibit as well. In the spring, at our school's annual projects' night, we have a huge art show where every student chooses their personal favorite artwork from their portfolio to show.

This year's exhibit at the library turned out quite nicely if I may say so myself! The opening reception is always enjoyable and I am grateful to those folks who help out with the set-up and food table. Kids are excited to see their pieces on display, and equally (or more so) excited to be able to snack on various yummy junk-food delights without too much parental complaint.

8 comments:

Tom Bailey said...

Kids seem so talented in their levels of creativity today. It is great to see.

Thanks for sharing.

Tom

SHANNA WHEELOCK said...

thanks for commenting, tom! i'm super proud of my students and all their creative efforts. they do amazing work!

Lili said...

A whole lot of talent in that tiny village! I loved seeing all of their art. It's wonderful to see them nurtured that way, having their own showings! When our grandchildren come to visit, my husband always has "art class" with them and they LOVE it. Great selection Shanna. --Lili

SHANNA WHEELOCK said...

thanks, lili. it's awesome that you make it a point to do artwork with your grandchildren when they visit. keep nurturing those young artistic souls!

Owl Who Laughs said...

As I've said and known for years, you're an amazing teacher as well as wonderful artist. You get these kids to shine in ways that few people could do.

What a gift to Lubec!

OWL

SHANNA WHEELOCK said...

thanks, owl :)

Judy Pratt said...

I am blown away again shanna by the the efforts you make for others. It takes energy to jury all this art work. And it takes energy to seek out the venues for it. And it takes energy to hang the student work. And it takes more energy to put it on your blog. As I looked at this today I was remeinded of two powerful activist/educators-- Terry Tempest Williams and David Brower -- both of whom I have seen give away their public platform to youth. This is powerful mentoring. Some time I would like to share these sotries with you, but it is enough for now to join you with their caring approaches. Love, JP

SHANNA WHEELOCK said...

thanks, judy. i look forward to hearing the stories next time we visit.