Art Show A Sensory Celebration

By Nancy K. Crevier

After weeks of research and hard work, and a marathon session of mounting the projects up and down the halls and in the lobby of the school, Newtown Middle School students and instructors welcomed friends and family to the annual Celebration of the Arts, Tuesday evening, April 29. Under the direction of art teachers Arlene Spoonfeather, Claudia Mitchell, and Jean Walter, seventh and eighth grade students collaborated to create a world made up of colors, sights, sounds, and flavors to titillate the senses.

Visitors were greeted in the lobby by a burst of color and the delight of delicate mobiles rendered in the style of sculptor Alexander Calder swirling above their heads. Problem solving, and the concepts of balance, size, and positive and negative space were mastered by members of the eighth grade Art Enrichment program as they constructed the mobiles, said art teacher Claudia Mitchell.

“They are sort of random mobiles that we created,” said eighth grader Sara Currier, a member of the class. “We wanted to create movement and color and each one is a personal expression.”

Sara’s enrichment class also spent time studying the human form and practicing the art of foreshortening that was well represented by a cat walk of fashion figures parading across one wall of the lobby. Using fashion magazine photos as inspiration for shape and movement, students added their own fashion designs to the figure with watercolor techniques practiced in class.

On the opposite wall, seventh grade Art Enrichment students responded to the works of pop artist Wayne Thiebaud, creating monoprints, one color at a time, of birthday cakes that they had drawn. The cakes that inspired the resulting one-dimensional bakery were donated by Stop & Shop.

If gazing at the colorful cakes stirred up the appetite, the Interact Club, under the guidance of Bruce Moulthrop, was on hand presenting the art of baked goods. Students from the social service group had baked the tempting treats Monday afternoon in the kitchen of St John’s Episcopal Church, directed by Cheryl Moulthrop. Sales were for the benefit of the Merry Hill Preschool.

A cluster of admirers surrounded a small table set up near the entrance of the lobby. On it, copies of the newest issue of Opus Optima were displayed for sale. The literary magazine is entirely the work of NMS students, with cover designs and artwork created by the students to complement the short stories and poetry in the neatly bound publication. The children have every right to be proud of the work, said Ms Mitchell. “I have been at the school more than 20 years, and every year this magazine wins an excellent or superior rating in statewide competition. It is no small feat, as they are up against high school publications from towns like Greenwich and New Canaan,” she said. The issue sold Tuesday night will be submitted in June for judging, she said, and can be purchased for $7 by calling the school at 426-7642.

As visitors milled up and down the halls to either side of the school entrance, nearly life-size mummy case paintings stood stiff and solemn on the walls, adding a touch of ancient Egypt to the surroundings.

The paintings were the works of seventh grade art students. Using elliptical curves, the students had given the illusion of depth and life to the paintings. Students were also required to utilize authentic Egyptian hieroglyphics, jewelry, and color when designing the sarcophagi.

Interspersed among the mummy cases were examples of figure drawings in the style of ancient Egypt, another seventh grade Art Enrichment project.

It was not just Calderesque mobiles that caused heads to swivel upward to “ooh” and “ahh.” Other middle school students had been busy this winter making paper maché piñatas. The piñatas — penguins, fish, balloons, and turtles among them — bobbed overhead, leading the way out of the lobby and down the hall, where row upon row of one-line self-portraits drawn by eighth grade students covered the walls. Using colored pencil, paint, collage, and text, the young artists had portrayed themselves as they wished to be seen.

For those who wanted to see art in progress, Art Enrichment students Miles Lubuglio, seventh grade, and John Cochrane and Adam Wruck, eighth grade, demonstrated drawing and wire sculpture techniques. Quietly sketching, Miles answered questions from curious viewers. John hot glued a section of the wire tree he was constructing, as at a nearby desk Adam crafted a pencil holder from long strands of wire.

In the tech education room, instructor Don Ramsey and his students showed off hand painted ties, rockets, and wonderful works that buzzed, swayed, lit up, and otherwise captured the attention of the many parents and siblings visiting the room. In an adjacent room, Computer Technology Club advisor Tina Welsh and visitors watched as club member Kirsten Lynch walked them through the PowerPoint presentation of a picture book she had turned into a talking book. “This is not an easy thing to do,” commented Ms Welsh. “It was a lot of work, but she did a great job.”

As if the feast for the eyes was not enough, down one hallway branch NMS teachers Kris Kelso, Nicole Morris, and Roseanne Beck and their interdisciplinary Spanish students joined in the evening’s fun with a table groaning beneath plates of Spanish delicacies. Beef picadillo empanadas vied for attention with homemade tortilla chips and salsa, each one begging, “Eat me! Eat me!” to passersby. The staff and students had also baked Mexican wedding cakes, and the petite butter and sugar cookies were heaped high on a tiered display. A thirst-quenching fruit punch a la Sangria was available, ably served up by class members Meaghan Harkins, Haley Malin, Tressa Scott, Matt Shannon, and Zach Carfi.

The Celebration of the Arts was not just a celebration of visual art and tantalizing tastes, though. In the auditorium, listeners were welcome to close their eyes and revel in the sweet sounds of the NMS Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Keith Hedin, or sit up and groove to the tunes of the NMS Band and Jazz Band Ensemble, directed by Mark Mahoney, a pleasurable end to an evening of artistic expression.

“I thought the evening was a fantastic example of showcasing the students’ works,” said NMS principal Diane Sherlock. “They only have art once a week and they are able to generate this exceptional product. It is an ideal way for the student to show their abilities.”