Once again, students from Owego Free Academy and Newark Valley Senior High School were able to showcase their works of art at the Tioga Arts Council. For three weeks, the student artwork has been plastering the walls and resting on the floor of the Tioga Arts Council for the “Sprouts of Imagination” 2019 show, which only runs through Saturday, May 25.
Students displayed more than 100 pieces of work they’ve been creating since September. Most are assigned projects; for example, Newark Valley students created animal sculptures in a traditional Mexican style. Others include portraits, anatomy studies, comics and sculpture in a range of mediums and styles, pastel, stippling, paint, marker and many more.
Charcoal subtractive stole the show it seems this year, with two of the best-in-shows using the technique. Each category had multiple artists place first second and third, “They’re well deserving,” Christina Di Stefano, executive director of the Tioga Arts Council said.
Students were judged on their execution in skill, composition, shading/gradient, originality in subject just to name of few points in the thought process of the Art Council jury.
“It’s a great leaning experience,” Di Stefano said. “The kids learn to create the art, the business side and what it takes to execute an exhibition.”
Burton Taylor, Newark Valley art teacher, said his students get to “viscerally interact with the space in which their work is shown.”
Students also price their work. In fact, Taylor said the most common question he gets in preparation for the show is “how much do I charge for it?” Students are always shocked, he says, when they multiply the number of hours they spent creating the piece by minimum wage, usually totally more than $100.
“This always starts the dialogue about how their time as a creative is worth money,” Taylor said, “That this piece, a unique work of art, is worth money because it is unique and took time to create. From there, it is only a short step to realizing that art as a profession is a viable and thriving market.”
Looking around the room there are still life drawings, pets in different poses, some angst teenage faces and some goofy compositions.
“The teachers teach them that it doesn’t have to be a Van Gough,” Di Stefano said. “All forms of art acknowledge that there is a variety and multitude of things in our every day life that are worthy of artistic merit.”
Di Stefano said the Tioga Art Council hopes to continue their work with artistic expression. They are preparing for their second season of Art Á La Carte in partnership with the Tioga County Anti-Hunger Task Force. At summer meal sites, the Art Council will have chances for kids to have a chance at artistic expression. The Art Council is also gearing up for then Plein Air youth art exhibition in Draper Park taking place in July.
To learn more visit www.tiogaartscouncil.org, or call (607) 687-0758. The arts council is located on Front Street in Owego.
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