Move Over, Monet: Woodland Students Showcase Skills

Woodland School's gymnasium became a giant art exhibit space Wednesday, as parents perused hundreds of student projects ranging from three-dimensional renderings and scultpure, to portraits and still life paintings, and recreations of fine art paintings.

Art Teacher Jennifer Ronkiewicz said the show featured at least two projects from each student, presented in arrangements reminiscent of Andy Warhol along the gym's walls.

Each grouping included an explanation of the project—fifth-graders created TIME magazine covers featuring historical figures they studied for biographies in their social studies classes; second-grader's created three-dimensional owls; first-graders learned to use oil pastels and watercolors to render images of mushrooms; and third-graders colored memorable lions.

The exhibit was dominated by a 10-foot by eight-foot study in the style of pointillism, a reproduction of a Georges Seurat painting the students undertook in small sections. Ronkiewicz said the students were only given small thumbnail sections of the full painting they needed to paint on a larger sheet.

"They didn't know what their slide was, they only had a number on it," she said.

But when the students' painting were put together, the students learned a lesson on the style that is sure to be remembered.

Ronkiewicz said similar lessons came out of each of the projects, such as students attempts to recreate the cubism of a Picasso portrait, or a barren Winslow landscape.  

"That's how they learn to do it," she said.

The exhibit also featured the school's planned entry into the "Elevate the Arts" grant program, sponsored by American Girl dolls. The program will award up to $10,000 for artwork based on the theme.

Woodland's entry features a group of students appearing to send dozens of colorful lights bulbs into the air.

Ronkiewicz said the entry will be submitted after the exhibit.