WSHS Art Student Wins National Honor!

West Salem Senior Julia Schomberg recently was named Second Runner up in the Dr. Seuss "Oh the Places You'll Go" National Scholarship search.  Her work was voted one of the top three out of 140 finalists nationwide.

To enter this scholarship, Julia was required to submit an original work that was based on her interpretation of the book "Oh the Places You'll Go".  Her work, "As the Crow Flies" (above), was submitted to the Scholarship Committee. 

Here are the Committee's comments on Julia's work:

"Clever use of materials, the map being flipped onto the side to make it less readable, acting more as a visual background...The ambiguity of the meaning of the crow in different cultures, as a good or bad omen, in this case symbolizes both the positive and negative aspects of Seuss' story."

 For her efforts, Julia will receive a framed Oh, the Places You’ll Go! limited
edition print from The Art of Dr. Seuss collection.  Congratulations Julia!

West Salem High School's Art Student of the Month for April

 



The West Salem High School Art Department is pleased to announce that Calista D. is the Art Student of the Month for April. 

Calista's work represents her calm demeanor.  There is a certain sophistication to it--paring down the subject to a singular image, and not 'muddying the waters' with layers of superfluous imagery.  Often, the work is contrasted by a plain background, allowing the message to "breathe."  While the presentation of her art appears simplified and straightforward, the content/context of her artwork often contains a myriad of layers.  In Calista's case the artist's message is more entangled in metaphor and personal experience than the presentation of the art would have you believe.

Her work concentrates on a simple presentation, with many layers of interpretation.

Among the pieces in the Marie W. Heider Center for the Arts Gallery is Calista's 'fingerprint' series. These are enlarged versions of her fingerprints, created with different materials.  Congratulations Calista!

West Salem High School Visual Arts Classic Team is heading to State!

On Friday, March 9th, the West Salem Visual Arts Classic team participated in the Regional Competition at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.  This team of 12 High School students competed against 7 other area schools (Tomah, Cashton, Black River Falls, Viroqua, Onalaska, La Crosse Central, and La Crosse Logan).

The team created individual artwork, and also competed in 2 team-related categories-- the Art History Quiz Bowl and the Team Critical Thinking competition.  Scores in the individual and team categories were tallied to determine the winner of the Regional Competition.

West Salem swept in the 2 team categories, earning first place ratings in both.  Their individual artwork scores were also used to determine an overall champion.  The West Salem High School VAC team was the overall champion, and will advance to the State Competition in April.  This is the fourth year in a row that West Salem has won the Regional and advanced to the State Competition.

A little discovery in class...

Check out these artistic nails!  Middle Schooler Brigitte B. painted little Chuck's on her nails...pretty creative!

WSHS Student Artwork Headed to State Capitol Exhibit in March

As stated in an earlier post, student artwork was displayed at the Regional Youth Art Month exhibit.  Three students from West Salem High School had their work selected.  Their artwork will be exhibited at the Capitol Rotunda celebration in March.  Congratulations to Julia, Hayden, and Taylor!

Youth Art Month

March is Youth Art Month--a month to celebrate the creative talents of our students!  Part of our celebration includes selecting artwork to hang at the regional art exhibit.  This year, the regional exhibit was in La Crosse at the Main branch of the public library.  About a hundred pieces of artwork are currently on disply at this exhibt.  Each area art teacher (from approximately 11 counties) is able to choose 3 pieces for this show.  From this show, some artwork is chosen to go on to the state level and be hung in the Rotunda of the state capital building...quite an honor!  The two pieces shown are of artwork that will be on display in the capital.  The fishbowl is by Savannah S., and the family reunion photo is by Abby T.  Congratulations to all artists who had artwork on display!