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Student Artists Take Center Stage

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

News-Leader
Published February 13, 2007
Juliana Goodwin
jlgoodwin@news-leader.com

Student artists take center stage

Participants get the opportunity to meet professionals and build portfolios.

When a student is asked to show his or her art work in a professional capacity, it's more than an opportunity.
"It's that little grain of fame everybody wants," said Kickapoo's Mallory McWilliams, who is currently exhibiting two pieces at the Library Center.

Over the next few months you can view a variety of work by Springfield Public Schools students. The Best of Springfield High School Art exhibit in the Bellwether Gallery of the Arts continues through February. Student work can be viewed at select libraries, Hammons Hall and next month at the Springfield Art Museum. It's a thrill for students and, for those who plan to study art in college, a resume builder.

John McCarthy, a Kickapoo senior, is still debating whether he will pursue art as a career. He works in pen and is on display at the Bellwether, which was an awesome experience, he says.

McCarthy's work in incredibly intricate and he hides details throughout a piece, such as a clock in a trunk of a tree.

He jokes about dabbling in other media so when he has conversations with professional artists McCarthy can say he works in more than "pen and pen."

Ashley Cobb's work — on display at Bellwether and the Library Center — resembles graphic design. Each piece starts with a family photograph, which Cobb blows up, sketches and then uses ink to cast shadows and recreate the picture. When she's done, a photo of her great grandfather on his farm in Kansas with black angus cattle was transformed from traditional to modern.

"I really like the dark black value where you can't see it, but you know what it is," she said.

Years ago, Kickapoo art teacher Cynthia Bylander approached the Library Center about showcasing student work.

The first show kicked off at the Library Center in 2001 and was so successful, students have displayed there every February, said Judy Adams, exhibit coordinator at the Library Center.

For the Bellwether exhibit, the gallery sent out a call for work and teachers made the selections. Each of Bylander's students submitted two or three favorite pieces and then the class whittled them down to one each.

Showing in a gallery offers a completely different atmosphere, said Megan Hammer.

"It was really neat to meet professionals in the community," Hammer said. Her acrylic painting of a partial X-ray of a shell is at the Bellwether.

Alyse Johnson, who is also showing at Bellwether, plans to minor in art and major in Occupational Therapy in college. She hopes to meld the two in some form, although she has not hammered out all the details. Johnson works in clay and has exhibited her pottery before, such as her Mona Lisa tea pot. Shows enhance her portfolio.

"It's good going to college with a portfolio. It helps my teachers know where I am at," Johnson said.

Jennifer Ziegler is showing a raku pot at the Library Center.

Ziegler dabbles in various mediums: paint, drawing and ceramics and plans to study at the Kansas City Art Institute in the fall.

"It's a great opportunity to be able to get your work out there," Ziegler said.

She advises students who are serious about art to prepare their portfolios in advance.

"Get started early on your portfolio," Ziegler advised. "If they think they can get it all done senior year, they're wrong."