Springfield Art Musuem shows student artists’ work

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How to go

What: Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos and Wittenberg Studio Art Seniors Winter Show

Where: Springfield Museum of Art, 107 Cliff Park Road, Springfield

When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays

Cost: $5 adults; no cost to members and people age 17 and younger

More info: 937-325-9673 or www.springfieldart.museum

Local high school and college students are just entering their holiday breaks, but their hard work of the past few months is on display at the Springfield Museum of Art.

“Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos” is a project from the Smithsonian, which the Museum recently gained affiliation with, and opened in the Beach Gallery with a special reception on Tuesday.

It will be displayed through spring 2015.

This special partnership with Springfield High School was an after-school project led by Museum Curator of Education and Exhibitions Deb Housh and teachers Lisa Cunningham and Joel Murphy.

The students studied exhibit design and object-based learning and accessed professional telescopes.

The students worked on four outer space-related topics including the history of space and telescopes, the solar system and science of light. The exhibition will include walls of artwork, printed images, often adding design and color for a personal touch.

“We were thrilled to take advantage of this exciting educational opportunity and to show that our Smithsonian affiliation is a tremendous boon, not only for the Springfield Museum of Art but for the Springfield community as a whole,” Housh said.

This was a pilot program with the schools, and Housh said the museum is looking at future projects to pursue.

Wittenberg University senior art students have taken their first steps toward their degree with the Wittenberg Studio Art Seniors Winter Show in the Museum’s Halley Gallery through Jan. 16.

These thesis projects are something of a preview of their final projects, which will appear next April at Wittenberg’s Koch Hall. The talents of 19 seniors are on display.

The projects range from black-and-white mechanical pencil drawings to high fire ceramics to digital media. Some students have even used their art to express beliefs and deliver messages on certain issues.

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and Tuesdays and during holidays.

Admission is $5 for adults. There is no admission fee for museum members or for people 17 and younger.

The museum will offer its winter classes Jan. 28 through March 21. Classes for young children, teens and adults in watercolor, stained glass, hatha yoga, drawing and mixed media will be available.

For more information, go online to www.springfieldart.museum or call 937-325-9673.

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