Student Art Month Engages Southern Vermont

BRATTLEBORO, VT – If you’re a parent, you’ve likely put your children’s artwork on the refrigerator or on a shelf to show your appreciation for their work. It shows that you care about your child’s creative side and makes you feel good, too.

So, what if your child had the opportunity to show his or her work to the whole community? Would it encourage him to do even more?

For the past 34 years, the Arts Council of Windham County has highlighted the artwork and craft of students in southern Vermont for the entire month of March. Opening receptions and an awards ceremony at the end of the month draw hundreds of visitors.

Art teachers, working with grade school through high school students, select artwork, pottery, sculpture, hand-made books, photography, puppets, and more to display at various venues throughout town.

Grade school artwork and pottery is displayed at the local library and in storefront windows.

This year, the two-dimensional work – drawings and paintings – of area high schoolers is being displayed on the walls of the Boys and Girls Club.  Photography is being shown at the Insight Photography studio. And, pottery and sculpture from six high schools is displayed at Vermont Artisan Designs & Gallery 2.

One visiting parent summed it up: “It’s great to see your own child’s work, but it’s also good to see how they are doing when compared to others. It’s so good that you’re allowing them to be seen in a real gallery setting.”

And, who knows, the budding artists may decide to make art a career.

For more information, see www.acwc.us and also www.reformer.com, referring to the Ovation pages. Or, to do something similar in your community, check with your local art teachers.

By Greg Worden

Vermont Artisan Designs