Art Students Featured at First Fridays

East art students will exhibit their artwork at Studio B in the cross roads for First Fridays. Last spring, 30 students from East and SM North went on a field trip to the University of Kansas and to some galleries to see how professional artists work and explore what path to take in order to pursue art. After the field trip the students then had approximately six months to create a piece of work that would then be displayed at Studio B. East art teacher, Adam Finkelston, is the project coordinator and has been doing this for years.“Students are selected based on their skill and the quality of their work,” Finkelston said. “I just talk to all of the other art teachers and ask who are their top students so that we get students who work in a variety of mediums.”Besides visiting the University of Kansas, students got to see Clair Dove’s paintings and glass work. Students then took their experience and used it to inspire them for a piece of art.

“It’s interesting to see what parts of the field trips different students react to,” Finkelston said. “It could have been one of the artists or something that happened on the bus”

The show will run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and most of the student artists will be at the gallery. The projects range from photography to paintings to an installation piece. For most students this will be their first public exhibit. Senior Dakota Davis is excited for the show and thinks it will be a great experience.

“I just want to see what it’s like,” Dakota said. “I think it’s a really cool experience to be in a gallery at a young age, especially since I want to be a visual artist. It’s good practice.”