Elementary School Art opens Saturday, February 9 with a reception from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and runs through Sunday, March 2 in the Jacob Foyer of the Gualala Arts Center. Teachers selected pieces from student art created at Horicon, Kashia, Manchester, Pacific Community Charter School (PCCS), and Point Arena Elementary that showcase the artistic endeavors of south coast K-8 students in this annual event.

Horicon teacher Nancy Donald, this year's curator, says, "I am always struck by the diversity and the energy that goes into the art created by students." In addition, the show stresses the spontaneity and freshness that only young minds can produce.

It is especially remarkable that the show has continued without interruption, considering the extensive cutback in elective offerings since Proposition 13 and also considering the increased emphasis on performance standards that usurps so much of the instructional day.

Thanks to a grant from the Redwood Coast Education Foundation, Melissa Sillick, the new K-12 art teacher at PCCS, will feature several printmaking techniques. Students in K-1 classes have created non-representational cardboard collographs. Those in second and third grades have created positive and negative leaf prints. Older elementary students selected either block print designs or stamped print designs. Many of the prints employ a technique called "rainbow roll."

Although Pacific Community Charter and Point Arena schools have a paid art instructor, most schools ask the classroom teacher regardless of his or her individual background and abilities to fit art into an already crowded schedule. Without this effort to include art, many children would have little opportunity to express themselves creatively.

In the past, the State underwrote Art in the Schools, a program that paid professional artists to come and do workshops and presentations at area schools. These individuals could be musicians, dancers, actors, writers, or artists. Often, they would provide evening performances for the entire family. But, that program has not been funded for several years.

This show has an element of potluck because until the teachers come and hang the pieces, no one knows exactly what to expect. The exhibit is a tribute both to the dedication of the teachers and to the unquenchable desire we all have for self-expression. For more details on this show contact Gualala Arts during normal business hours at (707) 884-1138 or visit their website at GualalaArts.org.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.