Saline Students Place in Regional and State Art Shows

Saline students are excelling in art and will showcase their work in many shows throughout the year. 

The 2011 Region 3 Michigan Art Education Association (MAEA) art show was held at Adrian College in February, and has just announced this year’s honorees. This was the first level of this particular show.  Winners were moved up to the state level.

Saline had a very good showing in February.

Cindy Larsen is an art teacher at Harvest Elementary  

“As art teachers, it is always a proud moment to see your student’s name listed on the ‘honors’ list,” Larsen said.  She stressed the “importance of the arts when it comes to shining a light on our talented students from the very young to the high school senior.”

At the state level, for the MAEA show, seven Saline students were honored in the Top 100 category, and three made the top 15. 

Middle School student Lily Early, Woodland Meadows Elementary School student Noah Holloway and Harvest Elementary School student Grace Woodruff earned Michigan Department of Education Top 15 honors.

High school students Emily LoPresto and Grace Bowe made the top 100 in three-dimensional high school art. High school students Meredith Robson and Lauren Branch each earned a spot in the top 100 with two dimensional art. Middle school student Gillian Hartley also made the top 100. Woodland Meadows Elementary School student Max Bauer and Harvest Elementary School student Shalen Murphy also made the top 100 list.

Other students with work in the MAEA show in Adrian were from Mrs. Marsh’s class at Pleasant Ridge:  Madyline Howard, Samuel Mauck, Hailey Malinczak and Megan Socha.

Kevin McCown, who teaches at Heritage school, spoke about the show. 

“The MAEA Region 3 show is a juried show open to all art teachers that are members of the MAEA,” McCown said. For this show, each teacher was allowed to select five pieces of artwork for submission. 

With only five pieces of art to choose, Saline High School teachers Cyndi Koppelman and Janet Hughes, also the MAEA liaison for the district, admit it is not an easy choice. 

“It is very hard,” Hughes said. 

“Usually at the high school level it is juniors and seniors,” Koppelman said. “We try to select work that is stronger, so we can be well represented at the state level.” 

Hughes added, “Every year there is always a student who is outstanding, and they could be in any grade.” 

Both teachers agree that sometimes the choice is about a student they know has worked really hard, or one who needs encouragement, to realize how good they really are. 

Koppelman teaches three-dimensional art, including ceramics and sculpture, while Hughes' passion is drawing and painting. They are thankful there are other shows throughout the year for other students to participate in. When a piece of art is selected at the state show, it spend a few months traveling around Michigan.

“Sometimes students don’t see their work again for a year,” Hughes said.

For teachers, making sure students’ work is submitted to art shows is a job in itself, aside from what they do in the classroom. There are five K-12 shows and one additional K-6 show. Each show has specific submission requirements that teachers are responsible for. “There is a lot of paperwork,” Hughes said.  Submitted work has to be labeled a certain way and then protected, and registration forms are often requested in triplicate. 

In addition to the MAEA show, student projects are submitted to Washtenaw Intermediate School District, Pittsfield Municipal, Saline Art Festival, Gifts of Art and a show at the Saline District Library.

Once artwork is on display, it has to be protected by “gallery sitters.” Teachers also negotiate between interested parties who want to purchase the work. 

“Moms have veto power over any sale,” Koppelman said. “Sometimes students are too attached to their work to sell.” 

In other cases, art has been sold to Saline Hospital, the school's PTO, Saline Recreation Center, Saline District Library and the school district.

Christine Marsh is the art teacher at Pleasant Ridge Elementary. She chose work from two of her third grade students, one second grader, one first grader and a kindergarten student.  Marsh, formerly a teacher of a much older student population, has found great satisfaction in teaching the younger kids. 

“Question and answer sessions are a joy because the kids really want to learn and to show what they know. They are information sponges at this age and it is exciting to watch the learning processes of these students and how much they can learn in such a short amount of time,” she said. “They are smart, creative and a lot of fun!”

Nathan Hill is a third grader in Marsh’s class. One of his paintings was selected for the Region 3 MAEA show, where he received a blue ribbon  to move on to the state level competition at Michigan State University. For Hill, the best part of the process was “seeing all the art work at a college and then seeing that mine had a blue ribbon and was going to Lansing to be judged,” he said. “There weren’t a lot of pieces going to Lansing so I was excited that my picture got picked.” 

Hill’s picture was a watercolor based on a  picture by the artist Joan Miro.

“We used black marker and watercolor to do our own picture,” he said. “I first tried to work on a seahorse and then I added all the lines and shapes.” 

Hill doesn’t see himself as a professional artist when he grows up, but enjoys drawing as a hobby.

Art isn’t always about creating a career or winning awards. According to Hughes, some students end up in an art class because they needed to fill a  class slot, then later realize they really enjoy it and are good at it. 

“I believe everyone is an artist,” she said. "Some kids who don’t do well in core classes excel in here.”

“It’s about communication and emotion.”  Koppelman said. “It is so good for their self-esteem. The best is when they bring their friends in to see what they have done. It’s great!”

For more information on Saline School District Art show participation, go to their website. Also, watch this video by Heritage teacher Kevin McCown of the MAEA show at Adrian College.

(Editor's Note: This article was modified to correct the first name of a student.)