The show brings together a wide array of artwork across media and includes four categories: painting/drawing; printmaking/mixed media; photography and digital media; and sculpture, ceramics and jewelry/fibers. Most of the pieces are generated from original ideas and created by individual students.

Scott McMahon, assistant professor of art at Columbia College and the director of the gallery, said this is one of the largest high school art shows to date. Last year, they received around 130 entries.

“The works kept coming, even after the deadline,” McMahon said. “It is a pretty even show across media with a good balance of material, technique and subject matter.”

Emma Rynkewicz, a student at Hickman, contributed a graphite, pen and ink piece that depicts two abstracted mannequins. She named it “Distorted.”

“I was playing with the idea of the distorted realities,” she said. “I like the appearance of cracked mannequin.”

Traci Bolda is her art teacher at Hickman.

“Even though I am the teacher that gives the assignments and guides the process, I am always impressed with the results and the hard work that my students put into,” Bolda said.

Hickman has participated in this show for several years. After receiving information about the show from the college, Bolda talked about the event in class and encouraged students to participate. Hickman teachers also helped collect works, temporarily frame the 2-D entries and transport them to the college.

She and other art teachers are planning to walk their classes to the gallery.

“This show gives the kids a chance to see their arts in a professional setting, which they may not otherwise at this time in their lives,” Bolda said. “And it shows the kids what other high schools’ students are doing at the same time.”

McMahon said that this exhibition gives the students the experience of seeing their work finished and nicely presented in a gallery setting. “They can step back and look at what they created and feel proud about it,” he said.

After teaching art for 17 years, Bolda believes that art is an essential part of life. “We are teaching them that there are multiple solutions to the same problem; we are teaching them to take risks,” she said.

Students are also motivated by the recognition they could receive in the art community as well as financial support the college provides to the winners of each category. Awards include cash prizes, grants and tuition assistance for an intensive art program during the summer.

“A couple of students currently attend the college that were in previous high school art shows and summer art intensive programs,” McMahon said.

The closing reception will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Sidney Larson Gallery. Awards for the four categories will be announced at that time.

McMahon said that the art faculty at Columbia College will go through the exhibition and select winners based on demonstrated excellence in technique and creativity.

“It is not an easy task,” McMahon said. “There are so many good works there.”

This story is published on Columbia Missourian, a local newspaper.