BENNINGTON — Visitors to the Bennington Museum on Saturday enjoyed free admission, family-themed activities, performances and presentations, and a viewing of the Annual Student Art Show.
Standing with her "Portrait Study," Grace Christian senior Lauren Levesque, noted that she loved art class and would truly miss it when she graduates. "I'm actually one of only two students who have taken art every year of high school. This is obviously my last one, because I'm a senior. I definitely got better at shading and I definitely enjoyed the shading process because it made it look like skin, and realistic."
Levesque spoke of a few of the highlights from her senior year of art class.
"We went on a New York City trip to see the Met, which was really cool. And, as far as painting and stuff – I really like watercolor. We tried gouache, which is like watercolor and acrylic mixed together, and I really liked that a lot. I did four beetles with the gouache. That one isn't in [this show], but my other black and white one is."
Levesque's talent was evident. However, she does not plan on pursuing a career in the arts, "because it's something that you have to be really good at to succeed in the art world, so it's not probably something I'm going to pursue further – but I'll definitely still do it on my own."
Levesque's mom, Darlene Leveque, said that the Annual Student Art Show is "my favorite part of what the Bennington Museum does, and the student work is just amazing." She said that she had encouraged Grace Christian School to become a part of it.
Nearby, Molly Stark Elementary fifth grader Hazel Spears was showing her "African Bird Tile" to her mom. Spears profiled the African Shoebill for her ceramics project, connecting it with a lesson in African wildlife. "My art teacher was doing a project where all the grades go around the world and do different projects. And we did Africa.
"Everyone was doing elephants and giraffes, but I wanted to do something that I knew no one else would do or copy – so, I did an African shoebill," she said. The African shoebill, Spears noted, lived in Central Africa. There, it inhabits the wetlands of South Sudan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, and prefers areas with dense papyrus and reeds, as seen in the background.
Bennington Elementary student Alister Mabee's work was garnering attention from the public. Mabee, a second grader, created, "Scream," a black and white self portrait photo embellished with watercolor, crayons, colored pencils, and pen.
At the front of the exhibition, Molly Stark kindergartener Brannagh Jones pointed to her artwork, entitled, "Winter Self Portrait." Jones' older sister Clodogh Jones, a first grader, was also a part of the exhibition with a piece called "Peanut the Elephant."
Alicia Jones, mother of Brannagh and Clodogh, was excited and honored that both of her children were included in the exhibition.
"I just think this is wonderful, and it was wonderful that they chose my two girls." Alisha Jones has been to the Annual Student Art Show in the past, and looks forward to it each year.
This year was particularly significant in that Clodogh's artwork featured a special tribute that read, "I love you Mommy."
"[The organization] is by grade level rather than by school," noted Deana Mallory, director of public programs at the Museum, indicating the signs posted throughout the exhibition. "And there are a couple of different goals. One is to celebrate the amazing artwork that our kids do, and to celebrate our art teachers and highlight the importance of teaching art in schools.
"Art is essential to education, and there are a lot of connections between doing art and social emotional learning and actual higher achievement in other subject areas. It is not just a fun thing to do, so we really want to get people excited about it," said Mallory. "The other thing that we do with this show is to look at artistic development in kids."
Mallory indicated the signs posted on the walls, detailing the stages of artistic development that a visitor to the Annual Student Art Show might encounter in their viewing. The signs at the show stepped visitors through each grade level's learning objectives.
Based off of the Viktor Lowenfield's "Creative and Mental Growth" concepts, where art development in adolescents can be divided out into six distinct periods of growth from "scribbling" to the "period of decision," the Bennington Museum invited visitors to observe this pattern in the art displayed within the galleries hosting local student art.
"Works are exhibited by grade level, from Kindergarten through High School," read the Museum introduction to the exhibition. "At each grade level, art teachers encourage creativity while challenging their students to develop the skills they already possess and stretch to reach new levels. They provide students with a wide array of materials and introduce them to famous artists and works of art, and to the artistic traditions of many cultures and time periods."
"The Bennington area is fortunate to have a strong arts culture and a dedicated group of arts educators who provide their students with the experiences that result in a continuing tradition of Bennington-area artists," continued the statement.
This year's Annual Student Art Show hosts over 300 individual pieces produced by local school children, and will be on display at the Bennington Museum through May 17. More information can be found at benningtonmuseum.org/visit.