by Sydney Stokke
Throughout the school year, National Art Honor Society (NAHS) students were given the chance to team up with AGS kids to showcase some truly “wild” masterpieces. On Thursday, April 23, the artists’ reception was held to commemorate the work done by the elementary and high school artists in the Where the Wild Things “Art” show.
Back in October, the BHS art students visited AGS and were paired up with the students there in order to collaborate on their artwork. The elementary school kids created a drawing of their very own monster and explained it to the NAHS students. In turn, they recreated the students’ drawings in their own fashion.
“It was a very enjoyable experience to work with these creative kids,” said NAHS member Anna Clausen. “Helping them construct a creature of their own and having the chance to recreate it as one of my pieces was very fun. It reminded me of when I was that age and my interest for art sparked.”
The monsters were recreated in a variety of ways: pastels, white-colored pencil on black paper, sculptures– even a garment was inspired by the AGS students’ monsters.
The artwork displayed came with a description of the monsters. There was a “king of the forest” called the BeaverCat (done by Matthew Kuhr and Melissa Neumaier), the friendly Rapandaphins by Ashley Waites and Alison Warren, and many more artistic creature mashups.
“It was really fun and cool to draw my own version of something that a kid drew,” said Marisa Orland. “I looked at the main parts of the drawing and made it more realistic.”
Looking at all the different displays in the art show, it was interesting to see the different artistic styles of every BHS and AGS student. When two NAHS artists were interpreting the same piece, like with Angry Steve and The Dehre, they had a chance to showcase their own creativity and compare it with the other student who made a different piece based off of one original creature.
“Some high school students did 3D pieces but I choose to do a drawing,” Clausen said. “I made this piece unique to my style of art because I love using colored pencils and putting a lot of texture and detail into my works. I think it is very interesting to look at both of the pieces and see the artist’s different styles.”
These drawings and recreations have been displayed in the BFAC since October and will be up until April 28. It’s open to viewing for any and all Batavia families to enjoy.
“I would definitely do this again if given the opportunity,” Clausen said. “I love kids and helping them grow as an artist was very rewarding to me!”
