Traveling art show showcases student work
Jun 14, 2021
Ryland Potter, a sixth grader, said the art featured on this sign was created when he was tasked with making an optical illusion. “You could color it all different colors,” he said. “But I chose like just a signature checkerboard black and white because it seemed more optical illusion-y to me.” Photos by: Madison Czopek
Sixth grader Kevin Bonner said he drew inspiration from the things around him — the trees outside, the school bricks — when he worked on the wood and stone textures in his project.
Lily Spinner, a third grader, made this piece while in fully remote art classes.
Students stroll past the artwork.
Sawyer Boutin, a sixth grader, said the butterfly project was all about symmetry — and she chose to go with a space theme because she likes stars and space.
Fifth grader Santino L’Homme designed the poster for the traveling art show and also created this owl with contrasting warm and cool color schemes. He said he likes his art class because the teachers always “find a way to make things fun.”
The combined artistic forces of Wareham Middle School and Minot Forest Elementary School students were on display around town from June 8 to June 15 as Wareham Public School’s traveling art show moved from one location to the next.
Art teachers Cynthia Gedraitis (Grades 5-7), Nancy Newton (Grades 3 and 4) and unified arts department chair and art teacher Andrea Ericson (Grades 5-7) worked together to bring the traveling art show to life.
“It’s nice to be able to show off the kids,” said Gedraitis, noting that this was the first time the school has done an outdoor, traveling show. “We did it to be covid safe. And that way people can walk or they can drive by.”
The teachers selected a variety of students’ work to showcase. The projects were scanned and Marybeth Tripp of Mad Signs in Wareham printed the artwork onto signs.
Ryland Potter, a sixth grader, said he liked the show. “It’s a good way to do it,” he said. “Since we can’t be inside.”
Fifth grader Joleisa Samuels said she was “very excited” about the show.
“I wanted to be able to show people what I can do as an artist,” Samuels said. “Not a lot of people recognize that about me.”
Kevin Bonner, a sixth grader whose art project explored different textures, said he enjoys art class because he can be creative and work on whatever is “on top of your mind.”
Sixth grader Sawyer Boutin agreed.
“You get to choose whatever you like,” Boutin said. “You can put your own style on it, which is what I think is so special about it. There’s no real limit to it.”
Boutin said the only downside to the outdoor show was that you couldn’t put as many projects in the show and scanning the artwork sometimes made it slightly less clear.
Ericson said funds for the Wareham Middle School’s signs were provided by the Wareham PTA and funds for Minot Forest’s signs were provided by a Cape Cod 5 grant.
The show began along Viking Drive, moved to Onset Avenue and finally ended near John W. Decas Elementary School, with the artwork displayed along Main Street.
