Cambria students prepare to shine at 2016 Youth Art Show

Parents, friends and North Coast community members will have a chance to see the magic of art education in Cambria at the Youth Art Show.

The show at the Old Grammar School/District Office — also known as Cambria Center for the Arts — will open with a reception at 5:30 p.m. March 4. Work by students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade will be on display.

Students will perform a talent show at 6 p.m. and their art will be available for viewing through March 27. The winning pieces from the show will be sent to the next level of state competition.

In all, 514 students in Coast Unified School District (including the performing arts) will participate: 278 from Cambria Grammar School, 111 from Santa Lucia Middle School and 125 from Coast Union High School.

It’s possibly the only show in the state that’s not prejudged.

Practical skills, creative whimsy

Youth Art Show visitors will see what is happening in classrooms, be inspired by the instruction of local art teachers and be astonished by the ways students have used that instruction and their imagination to create amazing art.

In art class, students see the connections between what they learn and what they can create. As they increase their knowledge in various subjects, they learn how to create and expand on their personal experiences. For example, students who learned scale and ratio in math are applying that knowledge to clay structures that will be part of a miniature garden. They are applying their skills in a creative project that will add whimsy to the art show.

The event gives teachers another way to make meaningful connections between their curriculum and their students’ imagination. For example, Danielle Narzisi, a science teacher at Santa Lucia Middle School, had her students create a “Super Hero/Villain” from one of the elements on the periodic table. Krissy Rhodes’ students painted watercolor landscapes after they studied the “Hudson River School Artists” in history class, and Colleen Poynter’s language arts sixth-grade students made totem poles after reading the book “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen.

Teachers collaborate and work together to provide consistency across curriculum.

Narzisi explained, “The students were engaged in critical thinking about the properties of their element and how they could use them in a creative way for their superhero’s qualities.”

Making memories

Sean Riley, a sixth-grade student working on color mixing, exclaimed, “Hey, this is a ‘life hack’ to save money on paint colors!”

Karolina Lizaola remarked, “Art projects make school so much more fun and interesting. It is so hard to pick just one for the show.”

Principal Kyle Martin has created banners that hang around the school that explain what students do at Santa Lucia Middle School in all of their classes. The banners read: “Research, Create and Present.”

“Our teachers do an amazing job covering the material and concepts for their courses, and including a creative or artistic element is what often helps the learning ‘sink in’ for our students,” Martin said. “Students’ creations are often what make the memories they will take away with them from our schools.”

The Youth Art Show is where the students will be presenting their creations for all of the community to see.

This event makes engaging the students in learning easier and more in-depth. They know it is not just for a grade; it is for synthesizing and producing meaning in a creative way, and best of all, they get to see their work admired by residents of Cambria.

Please come and see the amazing art work of the young people of Cambria. Contact Suzette Morrow if you have questions at 927-3889.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Cambria students prepare to shine at 2016 Youth Art Show."