Creston art students showcase talent

A new exhibit is available for viewing this month at the Creston Arts Depot Gallery at city hall. The exhibit features art created by Creston High School students.

Creston Arts has worked with the high school before to give students an opportunity to have their art showcased in the Creston Art Gallery for community members’ viewing.

Inside the exhibit is art of all forms, including sculptures, pottery, paintings and more. It shows the variety of different forms of expression Creston students are taught during their classes “Independent Art Study I and II” at the high school.

Collections of student’s work are presented together, showing the growth each student has undertaken during their learning.

Some of the pieces in these collections have certain theming; one made by Jenna Orr is focused on cats, another made by CC Zachary based on the cartoon series “Adventure Time,” one revolving on interpretations of hands and bones by Savannah Sistad and more.

With each piece finding a way to use the theming under a certain new set of conditions, from the materials used or the form of art, students can show their talents. These themes are picked by the students as their “independent art emphasis” as a way to focus their drawings.

Jakob McIntosh’s art emphasis was on aquatic life, with him citing his love for dolphins and other underwater creatures. There was a simple response to a question on why he chose the topic: “I like them.”

Aquatic life can be seen in multiple pieces in McIntosh’s collection, each painting and drawing being made with different materials, from watercolor to colored pencils. “I have a lot of practice with a lot of these materials,” he said.

The work students put into their art isn’t often appreciated by those outside of the classes, which makes the opportunity for their art to be showcased in city hall important for them.

The gallery becomes a professional environment for the students, as community members get the chance to appreciate the students’ work.

Friday’s reception also brought an advertisement for “Art On Deck,” a program where artists can design their own skateboard deck. An example of one of the designs created in the class previously can be seen in CC Zachary’s collection.

Registration is open at www.crestonarts.com. The program will have an exhibit in May after two painting sessions open to the public on April 15 and 18 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The high school students’ exhibit is open throughout all of April at the Creston Arts Depot Gallery in city hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.