The Glow Room, an area featuring glow-in-the-dark artwork, was among student pieces on display earlier this month.
Harrison Township Elementary School hosted its annual student art show on May 20 and May 21 with works by more than 718 students from preschool to third grade, according to art teacher Nancy Moran.
The pieces date back to the beginning of the school year and were on display throughout the school. The artwork showcased a variety of styles and subjects, ranging from watercolor paintings of bridges, to glow-in-the-dark drawings and sea creature crafts. Each piece listed its subject; the grade of the artist; their inspiration; and their style, all on the walls of the school.
“All kids have at least three pieces throughout the school,” Moran explained. “We start mounting pieces in September, because there is so much artwork that we do throughout the year. I have an assistant, too, that starts to mount all of the artwork for me. We have a checklist to make sure everybody is accounted for and everybody has something and everybody is represented.
“It’s a labor of love, really.”
Teachers, staff and 30 parent volunteers, according to Moran, worked over a three-day period ahead of the exhibit to organize the art and set up displays. It was estimated by Annalisa Rodano, the school’s principal, that the show drew about 2,000 people over its two days.
“The kids are such talents,” she noted. “It’s great because kids have an opportunity to express themselves in ways they couldn’t necessarily, and kids might not even like art, but they love art class.”
The teachers and staff themselves also got involved through a small display that asked, guess who drew the doodle? Guests matched staff with the doodles. Students were among those in attendance, proudly showing off their work to their families.
“I just want them to be proud of themselves,” Moran observed, “at the work that they did throughout the year and to show their families what they did, to enjoy the night.
“It’s a night of the arts.”
