As the old saying goes, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words,’ and that phrase was especially true at last week’s Jackson County High School Art Showcase, held at Treasure Gardens. The event was hosted by the Texana Arts Council, art aficionados Linda and Bill Reaves, and art teachers, Sarah Ardner from Ganado, Matthew and Shannon Beaird from Edna, and Jessica Woodring from Industrial.
43 students, either from Ganado, Edna and Industrial schools made a non-objective collaborative work, and used a limited color palette.
They worked together to arrange the individual artworks to create the most appealing unified composition.
Dr. Mary Lasater, Associate Dean and Professor, College of Education and Health Professions, from Texas A&M University-Victoria, gave them art students a tour of the TAMU-V public art, showed them some of her own art, and then visited them in Edna to answer questions and share how she works with concentrated wax.
“I’ve been a lifelong artist,” Lasater said, who’s been with TAMU for 13 years. “I used to teach art and my first degree is in art, but my dad told me I needed to make a living,” she joked. “But I also taught special education art and art to students with disabilities.
The above and immediately below picture were the outcome of Mr. Mary Lasater and her work with the concentrated waxes. She used old cigar boxes and layered the wax colors on top of them. Her finished works were in a raffle and the winners each received a box.
The above works were just some of the pieces the students displayed at last week’s art exhibit, hosted by Texana Arts Council, and Linda and Bill Reaves.
“Concentrated wax, which is a combination of beeswax and rosin, is an interesting medium because it’s hard to control,” Lasater added, “and time-consuming, but there are some people who’ve done some amazing things with wax.”
The wax, which is shaped like a small soap square, is melted on a normal griddle, while Lasater used a heat gun as well to push and mold the wax.
“It’s got a mind of its own! And one must be careful to work in an airy place because smelling the wax fumes could cause neurological damage,” she warned.
The Jackson County students let Dr. Lasater inspire them with their collaborative work and created unity among the creative minds. They used palette knives, glue, string, joint compound, paper, paint, and popsicle sticks to show texture and depth.
Non-objective art is a form of art which entirely eschews recognizable subjects, scenes, or figures from reality, focusing instead on pure visual elements like color, line, and geometric shape.
Collaborative art is art which involves two or more artists—or community members— working together on a single project, fostering creativity and teamwork.
Above and below were some of the pieces in the collaborative art project, up close and personal.
Dr. Mary Lasater, Associate Dean and Professor, College of Education and Health Professions at Texas A&M University in Victoria, visited the art students and answered questions while she worked on her own art project.
Above, last Tuesday, the students whose art was on display at Treasure Gardens all worked together on a collaborative art project. Above is the finished piece being appreciated by an art lover.
Above are some of the students at the beginning of Tuesday, working away to find their finished contribution before all of their work was put together.
