Motion and transportation — featuring wings, wheels, rails and water — are featured themes for an array of mixed media works created by Mount Madonna School (MMS) middle and high school students chosen for a public exhibition that began January 1 and continues through February 28. A public ‘First Friday’ reception on February 6, will spotlight the artists, themselves. The reception will be held from 5:00-7:00pm at the Pacific Avenue offices of the exhibition host, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.‘The artists’ opening reception is an important, real-world learning experience for the student artists,’ commented Sandy Shaw, middle school art teacher and director of the Pleasant Valley Art Studio. ‘It gives them the opportunity to meet and greet the public and speak about their work and creative process. I encourage all visitors to please engage the student artists, shake their hand and ask them about their inspiration! ‘
Using tempera paint, watercolors, pen and ink and pastels and paper, the students created an array of colorful paper kites, images showing various modes of transportation and evocative Santa Cruz County landscapes.
Shaw was contacted by the agency months ago to see if she might be interested in exhibiting some of her own artwork in the space. Ever on the lookout for ways to get her students’ work out into the public realm, Shaw asked the agency to consider hosting an exhibition of MMS student work. ‘They were interested in exploring the idea of showcasing student work,’ Shaw explained, ‘although they were initially hesitant as they had only featured the work of professional artists before, and wanted to be sure the student work would be up to their criteria and standards.’
Shaw suggested project themes: ‘Up, Up and Away,’ art pieces that were about movement — and for which the students, sixth through eleventh graders, created colorful kites; and ‘Going, Going Gone,’ two-dimensional works depicting various modes of transportation.
‘Students were encouraged to consider various forms of transportation,’ said Shaw. ‘Some were very practical, selecting to depict cars, motorcycles or bicycles. Others wanted to express the most essential and primary form of transportation, our two feet! Still others explored a wide range of themes from horseback riding to concepts of space travel to imagined vehicles of motion! ‘
A third series, ‘Scenes of Santa Cruz,’ features works by MMS students who also take classes with Shaw at her art studio. These works depict students’ interpretations of Santa Cruz’s coastal landscape, following a day of plein air pastel painting along West Cliff Drive. ‘It was a cold and foggy day along the coast and the sun started to break through the clouds in the late afternoon,’ recalled Shaw. ‘The students excelled and their paintings beautifully capture the mood and spirit of that day.’
MMS students with works in the exhibition are:
Kira Kaplan, Riley Wagner, Sammy Caudill and Savannah Cambell, 6th grade; Aaron Saavedra, AnMei Dasbach-Prisk, Brielle Goldstein, CC Rothman-Salado, Haley Kerr, Jeremy Curland, Lily Hernandez, Paola Jacobs, Robey Reyhani and Sarah Babcock, 7th grade; Alice Herbert, Eleanor Harrington, Ian Meara, Imogen Cockrum, John Dias, Kaili Sullens, Lillian Wayne, Noah Kaplan, Priyanka Bharghavan, Sage Turner, Samantha Rogers, Samith Lakka and Sophia Simo, 8th grade; Phoebe Grant and Ruby Bracher, 9th grade; Cat Ching, 10th grade; and Clio Herbert, 11th grade.
All MMS middle school students study art with Shaw. Her curriculum is rich in fine art subject matter and techniques. In addition to exploring an array of mediums, Shaw encourages each student to grow individually through his or her own personal art pieces.‘It’s a pleasure teaching art,’ said Shaw. ‘I’m happy to give students a place where they can freely express their creativity, while supporting their individual growth and technique. There are a lot of students interested in pursuing careers in fine art — whether architecture, graphic design, painting, or something else — and it all begins with getting their art out there and having it seen.’
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Contact: Leigh Ann Clifton, Marketing & Communications,
Nestled among the redwoods on 355 mountaintop acres, Mount Madonna is a safe and nurturing college-preparatory school that supports students in becoming caring, self-aware and articulate critical thinkers, who are prepared to meet challenges with perseverance, creativity and integrity. The CAIS and WASC accredited program emphasizes academic excellence, creative self-expression and positive character development. Located on Summit Road between Gilroy and Watsonville.
