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Making art is a personal expression of the creative spirit within a person. Having the end result selected for display for the community to enjoy and appreciate is an honor granted to more than 100 Spring Branch ISD (SBISD) students from October through December this year.

At the Altharetta Yeargin Art Museum (AYAM), paintings, drawings, collages, mixed media, sculptures, and ceramics created by students in the district are currently on display. The pieces were selected by art teachers to represent the best of the best from six SBISD schools.

When young students have their work included in a museum exhibition, they transition from being artists (lowercase "a") to Artists!

“The purpose of the display is to share the artworks created in art classrooms across SBISD with the greater community,” said Lindsay Ripley, visual arts coordinator for the school district. “This increases student confidence in their art, promotes their creative skills, celebrates the hard work of our student artists, and lets the community see a bit of what happens in SBISD’s art classrooms.”

Choosing Extraordinary Art for Display

Landrum Middle School art teacher Briana Zarea selected student art pieces that demonstrated attention to detail and skill in creating realistic shading in a still-life assignment. She said her students were happily surprised and proud to learn their artwork had been chosen for display at AYAM, located at 901 Yorkchester, on the north side of the Westchester Academy campus.

“Other teachers told me that students were showing off their invitations to the AYAM show and excitedly explaining how their artwork was chosen,” Zarea said.

Some of the pieces chosen by art teacher Maggi Cummings to represent Hunters Creek Elementary School in the student exhibition came from a third-grade assignment to create a self-portrait in a realistic manner.

First, the young artists learned about positive character traits and chose two they wanted to work on this year. These traits were written in the backgrounds of each self-portrait.

Next, Cummings taught the students to observe the forms that comprised their faces. “Studying everything from the shape and parts of their eyes to the trickiest part—surprisingly—how to create hair!” Cummings said. “Many young students just add stringy lines for hair, but by third grade, students start to learn about how much volume and space their hair occupies, as well as its texture.”

At Ridgecrest Elementary, the artwork chosen for display at AYAM by art teacher Amy Schmidt represents a school-wide project utilizing the school’s theme for the year, "Ohana," which means family.

“Every year we do a Dot Day project (based on the book The Dot) using circles,” Schmidt said. “This year’s circles were used to create a miniature self-portrait—a take on schoolwide family portraits.”

Students were encouraged to include clues about themselves in their portraits. Schmidt selected some pieces from each grade for the student art exhibit.

Confidence and Validation

“The main importance of the first fall exhibit at AYAM is to help raise student confidence and give them validation in their art,” said AYAM Curator Mary Taveras.

Confidence and validation are evident in this story told by Landrum’s Zarea:

While all of the students were proud their art was chosen, one student's reaction was particularly memorable. This student struggles in her other classes, is known for having many tardies, and has a hard time socially. However, I could tell from the beginning of the year that she really enjoyed art and was good at it. I pointed out how awesome and creative her work was, which seemed to fuel her even more. When it came to the still-life assignment, she was doing amazing as well, but she hadn’t finished it, and it was already due. I told her she should take it home to finish over the weekend and bring it back Monday to turn in. She smiled slyly and said if she took it home, she knew she wouldn’t end up doing it. She must have seen the disappointment on my face (because, wow, her work was great; if only it was finished), and she decided to take it home and try. Lo and behold, she brought it back Monday, completed and well done! I was so happy and proud of her, and she was proud of herself as well. When the opportunity arose to showcase my students’ art at AYAM, she was the first student I thought of. When she received the invitation to see her art at AYAM, she seemed astonished. I could tell she felt pleased to be acknowledged for something positive she had done, and that her skill and hard work had paid off.

See the Art – in Costume!

A unique opportunity to see the student art exhibit will take place on October 19 during the museum’s Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fun activities are planned for all ages, and attendees are invited to wear costumes. The cost is $5 to attend or free for AYAM members.

The Spring Branch community can also view the amazing student art display at AYAM daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. by contacting Taveras to schedule a visit. Several art workshops for adults and children take place throughout the year at the museum—an inspiring hub of creativity and culture.

Ridgecrest fifth-grader Karyme, whose self-portrait was chosen for the AYAM exhibit, said, “It is important to have art in the world because it represents different cultures and provides meaning.” This sentiment is echoed by Altharetta Yeargin, a retired art teacher whose art and cultural artifacts, acquired from worldwide travels, were donated for the museum’s beginnings 20 years ago. Read more about the history of AYAM here.

Visit, Validate, and Build Confidence

Schedule a visit to admire the students’ art this fall and validate and contribute to the confidence of SBISD Artists—with a capital "A." We are #SBISDProud of them, and you will be too.

#SBISDProud