All four walls of a Barrhead Composite High School classroom were covered with the talent of art students last week.
So were a few tables.
For three days the works of junior high students were on display for the annual Junior High Art Show June 13, 16 and 17.
Works ranged from realistic pencil drawings, to pictures created using only pieces of ripped paper, to masks, to decorated shoes.
McKenna Dievert had a few pieces in, including watercolours. She first tried her hand with the medium on a painting of a tree, then decided to move on to a more flowing look with teary eyes.
Dievert originally saw the technique online on Pinterest and thought it was neat, so she decided to give it a try.
“I used watercolours to make it look like tears,” she said. “I liked the rainbow effect.”
The Grade 9 student said she wanted one eye to look happy, while the other looked sad.
“This eye is supposed to be happier because the tears are going upwards, she said, pointing to the left eye. “Then this one is sad because the tears are coming down.”
Chelsey Nickolson also tapped into emotion with one of her pieces called “Hippo.” The Grade 8 student crafted the smiling creature out of paper clay, hoping it would bring others joy when she looked at it.
“I am filled with a sense of happiness and excitement when my work is going well,” she wrote in her project information. “When people see my work I’d like them to feel happy and to like it, not to be afraid.”
Nicholson also she she loves hippos, and thought it would be a fun task to create one. Though she had never tried paper clay before, when she figured out the process the project came together nicely.
“I thought it was going to be hard at the start,” she wrote. “But when I was finished it was actually pretty easy. I know a piece is finished when I feel good about the project.”
Hippo sat among several painted masks, the various styles of each student quite evident. Katelyn Hamilton’s mask was inspired by the traditional Mexican holiday The Day of the Dead.
This theme came to Hamilton’s mind because she has traveled to Mexico many times, and has grown to know their culture.
The most important part for the project is also what Hamilton found most challenging: the detail with paint. She said she was satisfied with how the final product turned out, because it shows how other cultures can be portrayed in art.
“It brings a cheerful attitiude that makes you want to celebrate the dead,” she wrote.
“I hope this mask makes you want to celebrate different cultures and remember the people who are no longer with us.”
Hamilton also brought her love of travel to life with a piece that had different challenges than her detailed mask.
“String The World Together” showed a map of the world, the continents outlined with nails and strung together with colourful string.
Hammering in the nails was difficult, said Hamilton, but she would do the project again in a heartbeat.
She added it was a fun way of showing what she loves to do.
Canada’s own culture shone through in the art show in a number of pieces as well. Grade 8 student Austin La Rose created a piece using only ripped up magazine pages called “Vancouver Goalie.” Although he felt like he was destroying a perfectly good magazines for the sake of art, the best part about the project for La Rose was that it involved his favourite hockey team.
