Creativity Shines at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Art Show

“It’s a wonderland!”

At least that’s the way the young students entering the gym at the Walden School at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES saw it. They were reacting to the explosion of color on the walls, and hanging above them on wires, otherwise known as:  the Walden and Pines Bridge Art Show.

Art teacher Jesse Steiner spent the past two weeks staging the show, which involved sorting through hundreds of pieces of artwork. “It was very much a team effort,” said Steiner, describing the many ways staff members pitched in to mount the show, whether it was hanging art, organizing the pieces, or building frames for painted canvases.

Throughout the morning, students from different classes cycled through the show, eagerly picking out their own creations and taking in the work of other classes. “I think there is a lot of satisfaction and pride among the students in seeing their work and looking at that of others,” said Steiner.

Self-portraits on large brown paper canvases lined the walls and abstract paintings hung from wire attached to equipment used by the students in gym class. Large multi-colored canvases covered one wall, with a table displaying the tools used to create them below. The tools included spray bottles, sponges and even a basketball that had been used to apply paint. 

Steiner stressed that the artwork on display was largely about the process, rather than the end result. “It was important for the students to learn to be OK with experimentation and not to worry about being perfect,” he said.

“The show is amazing,” commented Senior Office Assistant Linda Sherwood, who was busy directing people to the gym.  “So many people were involved in making it happen, working with our art teacher Jesse Steiner, and the end result is just spectacular.”