Home
Clay Students Celebrating Art
In celebration of Youth Art Month (YAM), the Local History Department of the Portsmouth Public Library (PPL) will be displaying “Youthful Visions,” an exhibit of artwork created by Scioto County high school art students. The display consists of both two and three dimensional work in a variety of media.
The exhibit will be displayed from March 2 through March 31 in the Local History Department and is being directed by South Central Ohio Educational Service Center’s Gifted Services Coordinator, Sharee Price. This event is sponsored by the Scioto Foundation and the Portsmouth Rotary Club.
This year, in honor of Portsmouth’s Bicentennial Celebration, the artwork will all be themed around Portsmouth. Also, during the exhibit, bookmarks designed by the students will also be available to library patrons.
“Creating artwork that is related to Portsmouth gives the students an opportunity to learn more about the history of their own town and to put their own ‘spin’ on it. In looking at the work that we are preparing for the exhibition, I learned some new things about Portsmouth, myself,” Price said. “The high school art teachers and I are very appreciative of the Public Library offering us this exhibition space each year during Youth Art Month.”
Artwork from many schools will be displayed, including Clay, Minford, New Boston, Portsmouth, Sciotoville Community, Valley, West and Wheelersburg.
“For our project, I had my Portsmouth Art Club members contribute,” April Deacon, Portsmouth Junior High and High School art teacher, explained. “We sort of made a pseudo time capsule project. Students incorporated print making, transfer methods, drawing, painting and more. The final product turned out to be really neat cubes of different pieces made by students. They then wrote messagesinside that directly applied to present day.”
Deacon has often been involved in the YAM events, as well as other art programming organized by Price. Deacon, being a teacher in the Portsmouth School District, has had her students deeply involved in the Portsmouth bicentennial events.
“I think it is about connecting to a sense of place through common strands from the past and where we are today,” Deacon claimed.
Local History Supervisor Carolyn Cottrell, of the Portsmouth Public Library, is in charge of mediating between the artwork and the library.
“Because we are involved in the bicentennial this year, we have tried to theme all of our displays according to the history of this area,” Cottrell explained. “I just thought it would be a nice idea to get local art students involved. Since we reserve a space for them every March, we thought it would be a good idea to do something then, so Sharee Price and I started to arrange it last year.”
Cottrell said she is excited to see the artwork go up and showcase the talented work of so many students.
“I enjoy having the artwork every year,” Cotrell said. “We have very talented students in this area, and as far as the theme being on area history, it just makes things that more interesting.”
According to the YAM website, Youth Art Month is an annual observance each March to emphasize the value of art and art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs.
Youth Art Month’s Purposes are to direct attention to the value of art education which develops divergent and critical thinking, multicultural awareness, and technical, communication, and expressive skills; to increase community, business and governmental support for art education; to recognize that art is a necessity for the full development of better quality of life for all people; to expand art programs in schools and stimulate new ones; to increase community understanding and interest in art and art education through involvement in art exhibits, workshops, and other creative venues; to provide additional opportunities for individuals of all ages to participate in creative art learning; to encourage commitment to the arts by students, community organizations, and individuals everywhere; and to recognize art education as a viable component in the total education curricula that develops citizens of a global society.
Sharee Price can be reached by calling 740-354-0229. A contact for Youth Art Month can be contacted by telephone, 781-293-4100.
The Portsmouth Public Library is at 1220 Gallia St., Portsmouth. Their hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Source.
Pratt, Joseph. "Students Celebrating Art." PortsmouthDailyTimes.com. 28 February 2015. 13 March 2015 <http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/news/home_top-news/152060382/Students-celebrating-art>.