Art Attack: New student exhibit pulls in a crowd
By Melissa Wood
Aspiring artists abounded at the York Public Library's Third Annual Student Art Exhibit. Pictured are just a few of the youngest artists with work on display in this year's show, including Katie Mahoney, Maeve Campbell and Callie Alexander, from Coastal Ridge Elementary School, displaying their honor certificates.
Photo by Tim Mahoney
Young artists Katie Mahoney and Derek Murphy check out a few of the sculptures on display at the Third Annual York Public Library Student Art Exhibit. Katie and Derek's artwork was selected for inclusion by Coastal Ridge Elementary School art teacher Mary Zane.
Photo by Tim Mahoney
YORK VILLAGE - The opening of Third Annual York Public Library Student Art Show drew what might have been one of the largest turnouts ever at the library's opening reception on Friday, Feb. 2.
The exhibit features works from students in grades K through 12 chosen by art teachers from all four of the York Schools. Pieces range from fire-breathing dragons to haunting photographic portraits that could easily be mistaken for ones taken by professionals found in magazines.
High school art teacher Beth Nowers called the exhibit some of the most exceptional work students have done so far this year. She said the show helped give the students broader visibility by getting their artwork into the community.
"We really do have a lot of talented kids at the high school," she said.
The exhibit presents the many types of artistic media students get to work with, including those fire-breathing dragons made of paper-mache, self portraits in charcoal, ceramics, transformative masks, jewelry and photographs.
"It's exciting because the younger kids get to see some of the pieces done in upper grades," said Steve Bishop, principal of the York Middle School and former member of the library's Art Committee.
Bishop said the library is a wonderful forum for showcasing student work.
"They love to see the artwork up in public," he said.
Bishop praised middle school art teacher Sadie Shafer, who has taken his place on the committee, for making the show possible. Leading up to the exhibit, much work had to be done, including framing the art, labeling each piece and hanging the art.
According to Shafer, one of the biggest challenges was choosing the pieces. The guidelines called for 35 pieces of art per school, which meant about 10 from each teacher - a number that couldn't be followed. Although the number of artworks had been estimated at 100, Shafer said, at least 200 made it into the exhibit.
"We found a place for everything," she said.
Gary Phipps, graphic art and photography teacher at York High School, had a simple rule for choosing pieces.
"I like really good work," he said. "I just pick out work that I think the public would be interested in seeing."
Seniors Alyssa Hayward, 17, and Kendyll Farley, 17, who both have several photographs on display, searched for their work just as the reception opened.
Farley's includes a self-portrait on the beach at Block Island, R.I. At the time she took the photo, she said she hadn't been thinking about using it in class, much less predicted it would be on display at the show.
"I was really bored," she said.
Hayward's photographs also feature dresses that she had designed and sewn. In one photo, Farley poses in a flowing dress on the pier at Fort Foster just as the sun is setting behind her on the water. Though not apparent in the photo, both agreed that the day was cold and windy.
"I could hardly take the picture," said Hayward. "My fingers were frozen."
Phipps said both Hayward and Farley would be applying for competitive art programs for college.
"These girls are very, very talented," he said.
According to Jean Lincoln, library trustee and member of the Art Committee, the library space has been dedicated from early on to showcasing a regional artist every two months. And, as part of its mission to engage the community in the joy of learning, the library's Art Committee takes two months out of this schedule to devote to artists from the York Schools.
"This has grown to be a wonderful exhibit," she said. "I think there were more people tonight than I have ever seen at the library."
Library Director Robert Waldman, who signed and helped present certificates to young artists at the opening reception, said he believed the turnout was at least triple the number of people who attended the reception previously.
"The number of people who attended surpassed our wildest dreams," said Waldman, adding, "It's a problem I like to have: too many people."
The student works are on display at the library until March 23.
