April 18,2024

During a busy last month of the school year in May, the community is invited to take some time and enjoy a variety of student-created artwork from all grade levels at the Creative Arts and Design Showcase.

The showcase is free and open to the public on Thursday, May 2, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM and then again on Saturday, May 4, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It will be held in the Innovation Center inside the Fairview High School/Mayer Middle School campus.

For Fairview High School and Mayer Middle School art teachers Annie Clouse, Ryan Graff and Chris Kaminski,  the showcase is a unique opportunity, one that has not been available since before the pandemic.

“The Innovation Showcase we did before COVID was a big hit, and we did that over at Gilles-Sweet,” Kaminski explained. “After COVID, we have this new space [Innovation Center] and a space to do something like this. We just wanted to share with the public some of the cool things that the kids do around here and in the district.”

Various artwork and design pieces from classrooms and extracurricular activities will be on display.

“Middle school art students will be displaying drawing, painting, ceramic and fiber works,” Annie Clouse, Mayer Middle School art teacher explained. “One of our larger projects of the school year was Grid Drawings, in which students divided a reference image into a one-inch grid and copied it square-by-square onto a sheet of drawing paper. The results were phenomenal and showcased their developing technical skills and keen observation.”

“There will be a lot of 3D pieces this year,” Graff added. “There will be ceramic and mixed media pieces - just some of your non-traditional drawings and paintings. I think it will be more than a visual arts exhibition. It encompasses more of the fine arts and some cross-curricular projects, too.”

“We will see some projects from STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) with Mrs. Dunlap,” Kaminski added. “We’ll have some items from Stagecrafters and what they’ve done. We’ll even see some things that students did independently for Red Day. And then we’ll see some fine art, photography, painting and ceramics.”  

Other special areas in the showcase include artwork from this year's PTA Reflections contest and an area highlighting work from the class of 2024.

“The seniors will have their own special exhibit,” Graff expressed. “We’ve had some current seniors who aren’t taking any art classes this year, and we didn’t have a show the last couple of years. They never really had the chance to exhibit anything. We want them to showcase some of their favorite pieces.”

Both teachers are excited about the opportunity to not only highlight student work but also to showcase the Innovation Center itself. 

“The goal is to try and foster a connection with the community,” Kaminski stated. “One of the projects that Mr. Graff has done is the work with the crossing guard booths. That was one way to showcase artwork in the community. We’d like to invite them to come in here and see the other things we’ve been doing.”

“We would like to get people in here and let them see the resources that the students have access to and the space we’re able to use,” Graff added. “We want to show possibilities of how we can make connections or what we can do with the community in the future, too.”

“As their art educators, we get to see them in creative mode on a daily basis,” Clouse added. “This art show allows us to share that inspiration with others.  I think the community will be delighted to see how deeply expressive the young people of Fairview Park truly are.”