The talent, creativity and self-expression of students in sixth through 12th grade was on display at the Byram Hills Winter Art Show, which featured pieces in a wide range of artistic mediums.
Displayed in a gallery-like space at Byram Hills High School on Jan. 11 and 12, the show featured artwork including landscape paintings, pencil drawings, sculpture, metalsmithing, photographs and graphic design. The show is a culmination of students’ work and skill development so far this school year.
“The variety of work by our student artists at the Winter Art Show was fantastic and there was so much great art to admire,” said Pete Pauliks, Director of Fine Arts. “It was wonderful to see the development of our young artists from middle school to high school. Our teachers are deeply creative and bring out the best in all of our students.”
On the evening of Jan. 11, students, families, and faculty gathered for a well-attended community reception, where students proudly showed off their work, posed for photos with their art and discussed their process. The event gave families the opportunity to talk with the art teachers and create connections and conversation around student art.
“Art really does help students discover things about themselves and having their work on display is a very special experience,” Mr. Pauliks said. “Students have labored over their pieces, so it was special for them to be able to share it with their friends, families and the community.”
For middle school students, the show provides a glimpse into what is possible in high school art classes; for high schoolers, it is a chance to look back and reflect on their progress.
The show also brings the Byram Hills art community together to give student artists a look at what their peers are doing in their art classes, which can provide creative inspiration.
Byram Hills art teacher David McMichael brought his Graphic Design II students to the show and asked them to find a piece that suggested an interesting theme. His students were preparing to apply to AP Graphic Design and needed to think about creating art that fits within a theme.
“They gain a lot of visual ideas,” he said of attending the art show. “They see what their peers are doing and they get inspired to make art. That’s what’s really great about it.”
One of his students, junior Andrew Petlyuk, noted the various themes he saw, including fantasy and nature, that gave him ideas for future artwork.
“You can find the same theme in a graphic design piece or a studio art piece,” he said. “You can appreciate both because the different mediums make them so unique even though they have the same theme.”
“A lot of the artworks are really well made and well executed,” he added.
Joanna Bergelson, an art teacher at H.C. Crittenden Middle School, said the show is a wonderful opportunity for middle schoolers to see their artwork as part of the continuum of the Byram Hills visual arts program.
“By seeing their work on display in this more formal setting, I think H.C.C. students feel not only a sense of pride but also the sense of wonder and magic that art creates in this dedicated space,” she said. “Additionally, by attending the reception, the H.C.C. artists see the incredible opportunities that await them in high school.”
The Fine Arts Department is grateful to the administration, community and families for their continued support of the arts program.