Woodson Students Show Off 'Grove of Patriarchs' and More

Isabel Greenberg saw more than a pretty landscape when she visited Mount Ranier National Park in Washington State. She took that sight and created "Grove of the Patriarchs," a piece portraying nature and its power on the walls of the Adam Lister Gallery in downtown Fairfax City.

Gallery owner Adam Lister opened his doors yesterday to showcase student talent. The exhibit features some of the best artwork from W.T. Woodson High School's top students.

Donna Head, Woodson Visual Arts Department chair and teacher, said that about 25 artists are a part of this particular juried show. Student pieces include a variety of visual arts techniques including paintings, drawings, photography, computer graphics, mixed media and sculptures.

“This is an exciting thing for the students to be able to show their work at a gallery. The Adam Lister Gallery is so close to our school in Fairfax,” she said.

Brought to life during her recent experience at the Governor’s School for Visual and Performing Arts, junior Zoe Jarvis' exhibit piece is titled, “Interaction.” She was first introduced to working with color pencils in a layered way at the Governor’s School. Through this piece, she found her own innovative technique of creating patches of intense color to convey the emotion and have the pieces hold the impact for which she was aiming.

Junior Jessica Gunson was inspired by tribal and traditional cultural ideas.  Recently she viewed photos of traditional Hindi wedding ceremonies, which served as the inspiration of her piece at the Lister Gallery exhibit.

Senior Alex Kolls is continuing his artistic ways next fall at East Carolina University where he will be studying photography. For his exhibition contribution, he ventured into the world of self-portrait experimentation, melding photography and computer skills to create the finished piece.

“The Gas Mask," a piece by senior Tariq Omar, was actually created a year ago. In its simplest sense, it is about war and anyone who has experienced war. The piece began as a sketch then Omar scanned it into his computer where he used Photoshop to finish it. He hopes to continue in the visual arts in graphic design and directing as well as creating games and cartoons.

After the Woodson exhibit, the Adam Lister Gallery will host a one-week show of artwork from Fairfax High School students followed by a two-week exhibit featuring artwork from students in the New Media program at George Mason University. For more information, you can visit the gallery’s website at: www.adamlistergallery.com.