“We do this so that the parents and the community can come by and see what the kids have been doing. They do such great work; I am so proud of them.”Mrs. McBrayer, art teacher
CULLMAN – The annual East and West Elementary Art Show was held Thursday night, March 10 at the Civic Center. This year's theme was Fairy Tales, Fables, Tall Tales and Legends. Dragons, fairies and a whole host of colorful characters adorned the walls as their young creators proudly pointed out their work to their parents, siblings and other visitors.
“This is my fifth year to do the art show,” said Mrs. McBrayer, East and West Elementary art teacher. “We do this so that the parents and the community can come by and see what the kids have been doing. They do such great work; I am so proud of them. The parents are always very positive when they come; they will look at the various artwork and say things like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ and ‘This is great!’” she giggled.
“It takes almost the whole year to put the show together, the students doing the art projects and everything,” she continued. “I originally started out by doing the show by grade levels, but this year I thought I would do something different, so I let each class do something different,” she grinned, “so tonight we have 55 different exhibits!”
In preparing for the show, students learned about several different fairy tales and the moral lessons of fables. The kids enjoyed the tall tales and were able to understand the importance of legends. Best of all, they were able to be creative and bring these amazing stories to life through their artwork.
“When Mrs. McBrayer approached me with the idea of an elementary art show five years ago, I knew that it was something that needed to be supported and promoted,” said David Wiggins, East Elementary principal. “The influence of the arts in education cannot be discounted and I am so happy that Mrs. McBrayer goes to such lengths to highlight the talent of students at both East Elementary and West Elementary. I am in awe of Mrs. McBrayer's skill as an art teacher, and we are so fortunate to have her at our elementary schools.”
“They did a magnificent job all the way around,” said Beth Collicott, West Elementary parent. “I am very impressed and I really love the theme. Every single year is just amazing. I usually go around taking pictures of other people’s artwork. I’m a sucker for kid art,” she mused.
“I did the owl,” said William, a third-grade student at West Elementary, as he proudly pointed to his picture. “I really liked working on it. It was fun.”
Despite the dreary weather, this year’s Art Show was a huge success. It was a wonderful way to spend the evening and enjoy the work of some very talented kids.
