Thursday, March 19, 2015

The 2015 Fine Arts Festival




The annual Fine Arts Festival recently came to a close. It is one of my favorite times of the school year, as it is a chance to connect with all the other county art teachers and the innovative and wonderful work they our doing with their students. I enjoy gathering up our student’s work from Walton to share with the greater community. It is a chance to showcase their hard work, as well as provide a source of affirmation for them to have work chosen for exhibition.  It also gives me time as their visual arts teacher, to step outside the daily whirlwind of studio practice, and take in the process and work itself, from a different perspective. Each year it has proven to be an experience that renews my commitment to the visual arts, and reaching out to younger generations to share it. It also continues to prove, every year, that it is a lot of work! Work that is worth it. From keeping the students striving to produce their best work, to mounting it all for display ( usually late at night at home, and often until the wee hours of the morning of the festival set-up), to writing lesson descriptions to communicate the connections and concepts being taught, and artist statements to reflect the ideas in individual works of art, to waking early in the morning on the Sunday of set-up, assembling panels with the effort of a whole team of visual art educators, and the much appreciated assistance of Building Services personnel from the county as well as the mall. We work together to get the panels covered and our work hung and everything ready by 12pm, when the mall opens. It is always a site to behold. Art work from every school in the county, filling the mall from end to end, exhibited with care, commitment, and collaboration. It always feels wonderful to take a deep breath, and enjoy a job well done while strolling the length of the mall and taking it all in. Then, two weeks later, we join together again, this time on a Sunday evening, to take it all down. This year Walton had 5 works of art chosen for display at the county office building, and some of these will also be in the calendar next year. Keep an eye out for them! Congratulate the students that created works of art that will represent our school, for the whole county to appreciate.

                                                FAF prep :


                                                       SETTING UP:





 Students At Work CREATING the ART...the most important part!

 A few of the chosen pieces:

                                   Sophia Zoll :  Portrait of Nelson Mandela

  

Violetta Miller  : Imagined Room Collage



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