From left, HES students Vera Zaslavskiy, Andrew Zaslavskiy, Peter DiNapoli, and Regan Donahoe pose in front of some of their artwork at the Center on the Common. (Photos by Verity Sayles)
Bromfield juniors Emma Keaney (left) and Yonah Joffe serve potage to visitors at the art show.
On Wednesday last week the Center on the Common was a joyful hubbub as students, parents, and teachers squeezed through crowded colorful galleries at the opening of the “Art CAN Make an Impression” exhibit. Museum Ambassadors, students selected from the third, fourth and fifth grades, guided visitors through the collection of neon Cray-Pas (wax-oil crayons) sunflowers and painted apples.
The Museum Ambassadors “was an idea I dreamt up,” said art teacher and exhibit coordinator Sharon Correnty. “I wanted to give kids an opportunity to talk about art and develop a working knowledge, so when they go to museums in the future they can converse and articulate.” Students were available on opening night to answer questions and explain their paintings. “I decided to dress up to be an Ambassador,” said Peter DiNapoli, fourth grade, as he tucked a gold pocket watch into his blazer and listed the impressionist painters he had learned about in class.
Vera Zaslavskiy, fourth grade, gestured to a series of Eiffel Tower shapes composed from hundreds of painted dots. “This is pointillism, inspired by Georges Seurat,” she explained. “We did these with paint and Q-tips.”
Ashley Morrow, fifth grade, explained how Van Gogh used indoor and outdoor light when painting his sunflowers; and in the classroom students tried to use similar strategies.
The centerpiece of the gallery is a narrow hallway converted into Monet’s famous bridge. Floor-to-ceiling pages of ripped construction paper give the illusion of a rippling river with bridge railings on either side.
Praise for a ‘dream team’
“The reason we ripped the paper was so it would look more like a river,” Logan Anderson, fourth grade, explained. “It took forever, but the adults did the bridge.”
Correnty praises her “dream team” who helped her over 10 hours of organizing, labeling, and hanging student work. Former students of Correnty’s also volunteered, including Madeline Hettich, a freshman at the Art Institute of Chicago, who invited students to decorate coffee- filter lilies, attach handwritten wishes, and add their crumpled pink flowers to Monet’s bridge throughout the night.
A still life of flowers by third-grader Annelise Anderson.
Refreshments provided by the Bromfield School French class complemented the European flair of the impressionist work. Emma Keaney, Yonah Joffe, and Moira Morgan, all juniors, served baguettes with French ham, brie, and mustard dijonnaise; potage campagnard; and mini-patisseries. The dedicated group of students, parents, teachers, and chaperones are fundraising for the upcoming trip to France during April vacation. Keany, Joffe, and Morgan have all been studying French since sixth grade and are excited to put their learning to use during a weeklong homestay in Normandy. Interested visitors could also bid on silent auction items to help fund this trip.
Pastries and impressionism
It’s striking to realize that you have spent an evening eating French pastries and discussing impressionism with elementary school students. While the students were at the forefront of this exhibit, Correnty reminds the visitors to see this as “not just a single child’s work, but the whole collection.” The Museum Ambassadors rarely discussed their own paintings and were quick to mention the collaborative effort put forth by all students. A similar sentiment was evident in the collection of canned goods for the Loaves & Fishes food pantry.
“I wanted to foster service. We got the space for free, and this is my way of paying it forward,” said Correnty. The impressions made by art are felt on all levels, but for Correnty, “Art was a life-change for me … that [feeling of] getting lost in a project. And now, to teach what I am passionate about in my hometown, that is a gift.” She is grateful for the support of the administration at the Hildreth School and invites parents and community members to visit the exhibit.
“Art CAN Make an Impression” will be on display at the Center on the Common until Feb. 5.
