The gathering looked like one at any other high-class art gallery — shiny white walls showcased evenly-spaced art, with more interspersed on pedestals throughout the room. Attendees sipped and nibbled on refreshments and milled about discussing lighting, staging and inspiration. The only difference? Many of the spectators and all of the artists were under the age of 15.
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, families and local students gathered in the pristine Eastern Washington University Downtown Student Gallery for a reception on the exhibit “Perceptions of Reality: The Art of Cheney Middle and High Schools.”
The exhibit featured 54 pieces in a multitude of mediums from sixth, seventh and eighth-graders at Cheney and Westwood Middle Schools. Arcing squiggles of folded paper vied for attention with elaborate, striking paintings and hanging sculptures that cast shadows on the blank walls, all accompanied by artists statements from their young creators.
Twenty-seven pieces per school were submitted, according to Cheney Middle School art teacher Sherry Syrie. She organized the first middle-school exhibit at the Downtown Gallery two years ago, when creative student art and the introspective statements accompanying them first captured the attention of the local community.
Syrie spent nearly a year gathering the best work from all of her classes for this year’s event. In September, Syrie brought in Westwood Middle School art teacher Katherine Potter to include work from her students.
About 20 students from Cheney and 25 students from Westwood have their art projects displayed in the show. A few from each school even had more than one piece on display.
“These kids are amazing and all of their work is clearly worthy of recognition,” Syrie said. “There are more than a few who could someday be full-time artists, because they’re confident, they ask questions.”
Westwood student Korynn Roberts created several pieces over the course of her art classes inspired by one of her favorite subjects: Harry Potter.
The exhibit featured her sketched Harry Potter portrait, which took more than five class periods to complete in addition to time spent at home. Roberts said seeing her drawing displayed in a professional environment “felt pretty cool.”
“I’ve been drawing for a long time, like since kindergarten,” she said.
Roberts also created a landscape painting of Hogwarts’ Great Hall and a still life of magical items.
Syrie stressed what a positive opportunity the exhibit is for young artists.
“This does not happen —middle school kids don’t get this often,” Syrie said. “We tried to pick the most interesting, unique, and original pieces plus some with the best artist statements.”
Even a cursory walk through the meticulously organized gallery space reminds viewers that children are not just mini-adults, undeveloped and in need of guidance. They are individuals with unique perspectives and experiences and a willingness to tackle difficult subject matter.
Student work addressed subjects like loss, imagination, anger, freedom and mental illness. One piece by Clayton Wood was inspired by his brother away at basic training, while another by Cheney student Navi Islam-Zwart urged viewers to think about “growth, change and new learning.”
“At Westwood we draw from a student population that’s sometimes going through some pretty tough stuff,” Potter said. “It does mean a lot to them to be recognized for something good, and it’s a healthy way to express themselves.”
Syrie agreed, noting that instructors simply encourage students to be unique and original.
“Having that singular point of view is not always easy as a 12 year-old,” Syrie said. “It’s not surface-level stuff.”
Westwood seventh-grader Natalia Margraf’s project consisted of an intricately-bound, evocative wire portrait of a huddled figure titled “Tied to Depression.”
She’s 12.
“It’s just about how sometimes people can feel that depression and go through hard things,” Margraf said. “I have a lot of friends going through that and thankfully they’re better now, but this is just how I interpreted it.”
Margraf originally intended to make something else, but was inspired by the contrast of chrome and colored wire. The project took about four days to complete.
The project was made based off a lesson inspired by famous sculptor Alexander Calder, known for his innovative wire mobiles. After learning about the artist, students studied the human figure and its proportions as well as shadows to design a sculpture using those elements, Potter said. The only requirements were that the final product show visual movement and depict an idea or feeling.
The Downtown Gallery exhibit is not the only opportunity students get to display their work. Art classes have an “Exhibit Day” where students can show off their work, get peer critiques and admire the projects of classmates.
Westwood Middle School also hosts an “Art Night” in the spring, for which every student selects their best piece of the quarter and gets at least one piece displayed. Their art can also be seen at the Airway Heights community library.
The exhibit runs through March 11 at the EWU Downtown Gallery in Cheney.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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