Irvine's Tree of Life Inspires BCPS Artists (PHOTOS)

With the artwork of Baltimore County Public School students gracing its walls, the hallways of Owings Mills’  were abuzz with students, family members, friends and teachers at the opening reception of Irvine’s annual Student Art Exhibition Friday night.

Now in its third year, the exhibit represents the union of art and nature while addressing an often-unfulfilled niche for students to exhibit art in the community, said Monica Wiedel-Lubinski, Irvine’s director of The Nature Preschool and the exhibition’s founder

“Art and science have such a natural link. The exhibit brings them together and celebrates the students’ accomplishments,” said Wiedel-Lubinski, a former public school art educator with a passion for nature.

While participation in the exhibit was open to middle and high school students, this year’s field of submissions came exclusively from middle schoolers. As evidenced by the assortment of renderings submitted in response to the exhibit’s theme, Tree of Life, they were clearly up to the challenge. The budding artists pulled out all stops with creations that included charcoals, watercolors, acrylic and oil paints, color pencils and computer generated images.

Proud to have her work displayed at an art reception,  sixth grader Alex Simmons talked about the complexities of working on and completing her charcoal drawing.

“This tree was very difficult for me because I had to extract it in many ways," she said. "But it was a very fun project to do, especially since I got to work with a variety of values.”

Fellow schoolmate and sixth grader Jane Dietrich described her watercolor, a part of a class assignment, as an exercise in perspectives and contours. She found mixing her colors to match the color of leaves that served as models to be a little challenging. And Hereford eighth grader Danielle Schmidt says that she challenged herself by using oil paint for the first time.

The variety of sources of inspiration for the students’ work ranged as widely as the media in which they worked.

Hereford eighth grader Traci Rambert’s inspiration came from a picture of a bird that motivated her to try to recreate the appearance of its feathers.  seventh grader Tori Vandervest says her work was inspired by the work of the renowned, late Baltimore muralist Tom Miller.

Perry Hall eighth grader Kaitlyn Freels sketched her watercolor on a snowy day, inspired by the effect of the snow on a tree, bird and birdhouse. Mia Navrro’s rendition was inspired by the colors of autumn.

Linda Popp, Visual Arts Coordinator at Baltimore County Public Schools, works closely with Irvine and the art teachers to ensure the success of the exhibition. For the students, her most important function is determining whose work will be recognized with an award. This year’s awards and awardees are:

• Best in Show (grades 6-8) - Hayleigh Baml, Perry Hall Middle School
• Most Creative Interpretation of the Theme - Marika Young, Ridgely Middle School
• Most Believable/Representational Artwork - Carlos Gonzalez, Hereford Middle School
• Judge’s Choice - Zachary Rew, Hereford Middle School

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to showcase the achievements of the kids and gives them a chance to be recognized in the community,"Popp said. "Sometimes, that’s all they need – just a little extra recognitio,”