In a school year that saw nearly all field trips cancelled, Whistler Waldorf School’s first art show at The Gallery at the Maury Young Arts Centre was a big deal.
“Pretty much everything got cancelled,” says teacher Rachel Colvin. “So it’s been amazing—even to come out and do a field trip. We walked here and we were able to go into the gallery in small groups.”
The show featured a range of art from Grades 1 to 7 between May 6 and 9, while Grades 8 to 12 will have their pieces on display from Thursday, May 13 until Sunday, May 16.
The artwork from the younger students ranged from watercolours to drawing and beeswax modelling, which is incorporated into their daily lessons, Colvin says.
At the high school level, both Grades 8 and 12 will showcase the results of their major research projects that have an artistic component.
“These projects explore scientific topics to philosophical questions to business ideas and everything in between,” Colvin says in an email.
Grade 10 and 11 final projects addressing social and environmental issues will be on display alongside art projects that reflect a personal story and values. On top of that, she adds, the Grade 10 history-through-art class will display acrylic paintings, and the Grade 8 and 9 art class will showcase prints, drawings and collages.
The younger students, meanwhile, had a great time showing their work in public and many brought their family bubbles through the space over the weekend.
“They loved seeing their artwork on display,” Colvin says. “As many classes as [we could have] came over with their teachers and we brought them up in small groups. They would run over to their art and call their friends over. They would also go look for their siblings’ work.”
Grade 10 student Khalan Whitt is set to have three pieces on display exploring the arc of her artistic journey.
“Each piece is a different representation of how I portray my own emotions in my artwork—or how doing art makes me feel personally,” she says.
The first is filled with shades of green and yellow with a snake in the centre, surrounded by gold accents. “When I was first getting into art I was extremely jealous of other artists who were doing well,” she says. “I hated the phrase, ‘All you need is practice,’ when that’s the best thing you can do: keep working and doing the best you can … It’s how I felt in the past with art—green, envy.”
The second piece—filled with reds, yellows, and oranges—features a fox with black and grey paint splatters, meant to demonstrate how she expresses her emotions through art. The final painting, meanwhile, represents “how I feel after painting. It’s two hands, one on top of the other. The one on top is trickling paint between its fingers. The one on the bottom is catching paint. It’s me being calmer, loving my work,” she says.
Unlike many of her classmates, Whitt has had work on display at The Gallery before—only her name wasn’t attached.
“I had two paintings at the last Anonymous Art Show,” she says. “It will be a lot different since this time you have my name on it. I think it will be nice to have people come and see my work. I put a lot more effort into each piece.”
Catch Creations from Whistler Waldorf School at The Maury Young Arts Centre (with COVID-19 rules in place) until May 16.
