By Matthew Rostkowski
Rocky Hill High School is celebrating Youth Art Month throughout March with a district wide display of student work at the Cora J. Belden Library.
The show, an annual tradition, had to be canceled the past few years during the pandemic. As a result, they were left to do an online format last year.
Art teacher Ms. Schnyder is glad to be back at the library saying, “It is a very different experience to see artwork live in person versus digitally which is what we were stuck doing during Covid. It was such a relief and a pleasure to see it back in person.”
All the classes that are offered at the high school are represented in the show, located throughout the top floor of the library, including the digital arts, 3D, and studio arts.
With all the work being there at once, it marks a sense of resolve past the struggles inherent with the Covid-19 pandemic.
For educators such as Schnyder, the show is a tangible way for all the extra efforts put in these past few years amid the pandemic to be showcased.
“With all the work there together, there is a certain energy to it all that was missing.”
This shift to normalcy is especially seen back in the classroom: “It was hard at the start of the year because people weren’t used to school and the schedule. There were problems adjusting to the schedule and returning back to the school day again,” she described. “People are now adjusted and with communication and community feedback being such a vital part of art as a subject it is great that we are able to get shared feedback once again.”
Across the art department, students have had the opportunity to use the vast array of materials and processes that were limited in the past years of online learning.
“Glass, large canvases, adobe products, oil paint, clay are all back in the classroom which is great because you couldn’t use those materials at home,” Schnyder said.
From drawings to mosaics, all are on display–and not just from the high schoolers. On the lower floors, work from the younger schools are on display, which is Schnyder’s favorite part of the event.
“The wonderful thing about the Youth Art Month show is that you not only see the high school work, it’s a celebration of everyone’s creativity. From second all the way to the college level courses offered at the high school, you can see the progression of the work and the skill level.”
“It really shows the great abilities of students throughout the Rocky Hill School District.”