For Amy Donohoe, seeing the growth of the annual Juried Student Exhibition in the past few years has brought her a sense of satisfaction.
Donohoe, who's served as the director of visual arts and community programs at the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, will be stepping down from her post, but when she talks about the student show, you can tell she's going out on a high note with appreciation in her voice.
Part of that's just about the good numbers at this year's show.
"This year we had 346 entries total, (while) 226 of those entries were high school students; 75 entries were accepted for high school," Donohoe said. "Eighty-four entries were submitted for the middle school division and 55 entries were selected for that division. And then we had 36 entries for the elementary division and all of those pieces were selected."
Schools from as far away as Paris, Texas, and Valliant, Okla., have student artists in the show. Nine different high schools and three private art instructors have participated.
"We're super excited because this year the art in high school is really good, and elementary art is also really impressive this year," Donohoe said.
All of that art now fills the Regional Arts Center's three floors and its basement through July 7. It's a range of delightful, thoughtful, eclectic art, too. There are plenty of portraits and even a dress made out of balloons.
Mixed media, assemblages and oil portraits populate the high school entries showcased this year. There's photography here, too, such as the photograph "If Brushes Could Talk"; taken by an Arkansas High School student, the photo depicts paint brushes in a bucket of water, rendered in grayscale. It's gorgeous.
Or there's the amazing, surreal oil painting that depicts a young woman's face with various perspectives fused together.
"Not only did they use oil, they know what they're doing in oil," Donohoe said. Megan Sanders of Chisum High School made it. Titled "Self Destruction," it contains six eyes and a lot of emotion. "You see her expression change from normal to contorted," Donohoe said, impressed with the skin tones and hair. Not your everyday portrait, she said.
"I was just so impressed with the craftsmanship and the quality of their craft," Donohoe said.
This year's middle school entries saw a lot of photography from the student artists, many of them from Valliant and from the strong photography program at Redwater Junior High, Donohoe said. Also, students at Pleasant Grove tried pointillism techniques to depict various animals.
At this point in their art studies, students can show a willingness to explore shading, challenging themselves, Donohoe said.
When you step down to the RAC's basement, you'll discover the amazing, cute-as-can-be sculptures students made, including the "Helping Robots" assemblage by Christian Brisco, who's only in 1st grade. Or there's a charming clay bowl made by kindergartner Jett Manning, who must have rolled little clay snakes together and smooshed them into the side of the bowl, Donohoe explained.
Pastels are plentiful this year for the elementary students. There's also a lot of work that showcases textures this year. The elementary art seems a bit more adventurous for this show, too. The 5th grade art club for the Pleasant Grove school district made a unique assemblage. "It's basically a giant example of yarn and knitting needles," Donohoe said. "It looks like bedposts, almost, on a canvas."
Or there's the piece titled "Out of the Bag," which uses paper lunch bags, butcher paper and charcoal to depict a larger paper bag. This piece by 5th grader Paige Reeves, a student of Jeannie Knod Edwards, has a special poignancy to it, too. Donohoe was told when the art was dropped off that this student's home actually burned down the day before, but this work survived.
"So they decided to go ahead and enter it," Donohoe said.
Everywhere in the basement gallery space, there's inventive, playful, colorful art. "I was very happy with the elementary entries, especially because this is my last year to do this show. It is gratifying," Donohoe said, noting she's seen students go from elementary to middle and on to high school.
"You really almost feel like you're growing with them when you see their work every year and how much they've improved," Donohoe said about this show, one of her favorites to coordinate.
"I just love seeing what they come up with, and they're not afraid to experiment," Donohoe said.
(Admission is free. The Regional Arts Center is open at 321 W. 4th St. in Texarkana, Texas, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. More info: TRAHC.org or 903-792-8681.)