Senior Penny Merva’s felt possum, which was produced in her Sculpture II class, is displayed in the 2022 CCSD Youth Art Month virtual exhibit. Merva enjoyed the felting unit and found inspiration from her daily observations. “I’ve actually done felting before, but we were doing a felting unit in (Sculpture II) and it was supposed to be an animal that we related to. I just really liked possums and honestly, I had been seeing a lot of roadkill recently, and it was making me sad,” Merva said. “So then I made the possum and we started with a pipe cleaner base, just to get the form and then (we) used stuffing and felt to form the shape.” Photo courtesy of Amanda Price
To celebrate Youth Art Month in March, the 2022 CCSD Youth Art Month virtual exhibit presents work from students all over the CCSD, including CCHS.
Teachers in the Clarke Central High School fine arts department submitted student artwork to the 2022 Clarke County School District Youth Art Month virtual exhibition, celebrating Youth Art Month in March.
CCHS fine arts department teachers were each permitted to submit four pieces of artwork to showcase their students’ talents in all aspects of art, such as painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics and felting. According to fine arts department teacher Amanda Price, who teaches visual art, students worked hard to create their artwork, so narrowing her choices down to four pieces was difficult.
“I wanted to make sure I featured all the types of artwork my students were making, like sculpture, collages, photography, various sculpture things,” Price said. “They make so much throughout a semester and do so many great things, (so) limiting each teacher to four (pieces) was challenging.”
“I think it’s important to not only recognize the youth that want to have art in their career, (but) let every youth be a part of (Youth Art Month) even if it’s not something they’re considering seriously.”
— Penny Merva,
Sculpture II art student and senior
To senior and Sculpture II art student Penny Merva, Youth Art Month is for everyone and should be celebrated even by those who don’t consider art as a future career.
“I think it’s important to recognize all skill levels and purposes for making art. I’ve never considered it as a career, but it’s a super good stress reliever for me and other people in my (Sculpture II) class,” Merva said. “I think it’s important to not only recognize the youth that want to have art in their career, (but) let every youth be a part of (Youth Art Month) even if it’s not something they’re considering seriously.”
Even though the exhibit is virtual this year, Price believes that viewers reaching out to the student artists about their artwork is the best way to build and maintain relationships.
“With it being virtual, the best way (to reach out to students) is to continue sharing the link, and just going and looking at it,” Price said. “(Doing) something as simple as either reaching out to (students) in person or sending them an email saying, ‘I saw your artwork and this was really great about it,’ (to make) it a really authentic comment or conversation.”
To view the 2022 Virtual Youth Art Month gallery, click here
