This year’s art show went spectacular. There were many different mediums and styles at the show. The art show was located in Jackson Crossing and started on April 15 and ended on April 28th. Concord had nearly 200 art pieces in the show, many of which had been awarded medals. As in years past, a colored sticker is placed next to any art piece where the skill of that artist is being recognized. First place has a blue sticker, 2nd place a red, and 3rd place has a yellow sticker. The Ella Sharp sticker identifies the outstanding skill displayed by the artist. At the conclusion of the art show, the Ella Sharp recognized pieces will be on display for a full year in a Jackson area business. After the year, the piece will then be returned to the student with the artwork placed in a new frame.
Mr. Couling, the art teacher, shares how this year’s show went: “I am so proud of how all of our work is, as a body of work, and as individual work. Our work is very consistent and is of high quality of work.” He also explains that he looks forward to “the continued growth. It is amazing to watch the students in the upper level help out the students in the younger [level] just to push down a challenge.”
Freshman, Hannah Ryan has been taking Couling’s class both in 7th grade and this year. Her style is mostly drawing dogs, and the main medium she uses is pencil because it does not require many materials. Out of the art projects that she has done, her favorite was the colored pencil pug. Hannah shares what art means to her, “Art to me is a way to express my creativity. It’s a passion of mine that helps me gain patience.”
Sophomore, Trenton Frazer has taken Couling’s art class in 8th, 9th, and this year as a 10th grader. He enjoys using colored pencils because of how easy it is to blend the colors, and how the final product turns out. Out of the art products that he has produced, his favorite is the ink and pen lizard. Trenton’s ink and pen lizard won an Ella Sharp Museum award this year. Trenton shares what inspires him most, “My dad. When I was younger he would show us the art that he did as a high schooler. Just recently; I worked on one of his projects that he started in high school. It just set my love for art.”
Junior, Iyla Weeks uses a bunch of different types of mediums. Her favorites are acrylic and watercolor. Art, to her, is expressing yourself. She likes showing her artwork and drawing what comes to mind. Out of all of her projects, she enjoyed the pen and inked bird, which was a 2D-3D project. The bird’s body was in pen and ink, while the feathers were the 3D part. Iyla explains a struggle she had with art, and how she overcame it, “Time is a big one because it is hard to force yourself to be creative. I overcame that by focusing more on the project part.”
Junior, Hannah Stimer enjoys using pen and ink, but this year she did more color pencil work. She enjoys doing realistic drawings, mainly of animals and nature. Hannah has two favorites that she did this year, her bear and watercolor fawn. This year, Hannah also got an Ella Sharp award for her color pencil dog. Hannah shares her thoughts on what art means to her, “I think it is a cool way to relax and something to do. It is a different hobby. Usually, I am doing sports, but this is more like sitting down and decompressing.”
Congratulations to all the students who entered the show. It was exciting to see all the pieces that were made.
