The Montgomery Museum of Art and History will hold an opening reception fro artwork by young artists from Christiansburg High School 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4.
These students come from four art classes at CHS, and their artwork spans many themes including The Mind of a Toddler, Deterioration, and Mexican Culture. The show will also include artwork in many different mediums, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages, and more.
“I’m excited for all of them,” Carrie Lyons, the art teacher organizing the show, said. “The best part about this show is how eclectic it is. You won’t see a lot of pieces that are all obviously from the same project. Every piece has its own little story and its own little background to it… and you can really see the student’s voice coming out in each piece.”
It’s true that no two pieces in the show are alike. Student Madison Adams will be showing a piece called “Fish Out of Water,” which depicts a young boy slowly turning into a fish. Another student Katelyn Tanaka will be bringing a portrait of her friend with the shadows of blinds over her face. Cat Hylton is bringing a portrait of her ex-boyfriend who joined the Marines and cheated on her. Each student was able to take their work in a completely different direction, and the show will feature art with a wide variety of different styles and subject matters.
Estefania Salomon is bringing a piece that depicts a butterfly on top of hibiscus flowers with a fence visible in the background.
“The butterfly symbolizes the migration of immigrants moving from Mexico to the States and then back, and it’s just constant migration, like with monarch butterflies,” she said.
When asked what excited her most about the show, Estefania said, “I like communicating with people and seeing peoples’ reactions to my art, especially when they don’t know that I’m the artist.”
Samaya White is bringing a sculpture based on the character “Audrey 2” from the movie “Little Shop of Horrors.” She chose this piece because the movie reminds her of her mother.
“I remember that one of the first funny movies that she made me watch with her was “Little Shop of Horrors,” Samaya said. “And I’ve loved it ever since. I thought that working on that would bring back good memories.”
Samaya said that she’s excited about the show because it’s an opportunity step out of her comfort zone and show her work to others.
“I’ve never really had my art shown to the public before,” she said. “I’ve always been kind of “to myself” about my artwork.”
One of the most exciting aspects of this show for the students is that they’re able to take their artwork outside of their school and bring it into the community.
“There just aren’t a lot of opportunities to see what the high schoolers are making,” Ms. Lyons explains. “So, it’s just a unique opportunity to have a nice space where we can really focus on our students.”
Not only is this a meaningful experience for the students, but it’s also interesting for adults who might not have any opportunity to see the incredible talent of young artists.
“I think that it’s fun to see younger creative minds,” Estefania explains. “For adults to see younger kids creating art, and then [we] see their reaction, and they’re like “Wow, somebody in high school actually did this.” I think that’s really cool.”
The students’ art will be shown at the Montgomery Museum of Art and History through the month of April. The reception it is open to the public. In addition, the art will be judged by the Blacksburg Regional Art Association who will give awards, and the Mish-Mish art store will provide prizes.
——Submitted by Alana Hassett
