BV Fine Arts Night: ‘For the families’
By:
Jamie Hult, Staff writer
Aiden Schradt inspects his clay creation at Brandon Valley’s first district-wide Fine Arts Night March 28 at the high school. Jamie Hult/BV Journal
Brandon artist Amy Kasten helps budding artist Marlee Jellema with modge podging materials on canvas.
Best friends Remi Aeikens and Lauren Johnson experiment at the metal tooling table.
An estimated 800 students and family members attended Brandon Valley’s first district-wide Fine Arts Night March 28.
Now in its fourth year, the event has grown not only to encompass K-12, but also nearly doubled the number of volunteers from previous years.
“It felt successful,” said Fine Arts Night coordinator Erin Rieff, who teaches art at Brandon Elementary. “I had parents telling me how much it meant to their families.”
Paula Gordon, an art teacher at Valley Springs Elementary, was one of 120 volunteers manning 20 stations throughout the high school commons.
“I’ve never done it before,” Gordon confessed. “I think it’s really cool. A lot of retired teachers have come back to help.”
Volunteers included current and former staff, parents, Boosters, PTA members, and current and former students.
Little Lydia Reed spent some time at the sculpture table while her mom, Christine, looked on.
How to spend the evening was a “no-brainer,” Christine Reed said.
“Art is her favorite subject. As soon as she comes home, she colors all night,” she said.
Students lined up for tickets, which they could have punched at four stations.
“That’s how we controlled the materials,” Rieff explained.
Stations included origami, aluminum foil prints, twisty sculptures, metal tooling, air dry clay, drawing with foil, dream catchers, henna tattoos, caricatures by Chuck Bennis and mixed media.
Marlee Jellema crafted at Amy Kasten’s mixed media table while her older brother watched.
“Art is good for everyone, even if you’re an intermediate school boy,” said their mom, Nicole, with a smile at her son. “He’s a good sport.”
Colleen Mette brought her 3-year-old, Hudson, and donned a volunteer shirt at the request of her friend Erin Rieff.
“I got talked into it,” Mette said with a laugh. “I teach about an hour and a half away, and I wanted to see how she does it, so I can do it.”
Planning the event was a team effort among the BV art teachers, Rieff said.
“We all worked hard taking care of our buildings and communicating with our students and staff about the plans for the event. That, coupled with supportive administration, all played a very big part in the overall success of the night,” she said.
