Art Education

Special to The Herald-Mail What does New York painter William Clutz have in common with Washington County Commissioner Jeff Cline?   They each have a keen memory of exhibiting their childhood art at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Cline said he remembers the thrill he experienced as a young person when his sculpture was exhibited in the annual Washington County Public School art exhibition. Through this recognition, Cline experienced first-hand that early arts experiences help develop our citizens for the future, not only through developing their appreciation for the arts, and their reverence for historic and cultural objects, buildings and cities, but also by developing creative- thinking individuals who are devoted to life-long learning and contributing to the greater good.

Area public school teachers, artists and arts organizations wanting to expand classroom involvement and creative learning may apply for an Arts-in-Education grant through the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation. By integrating painting, sculpture, theater, weaving, music, graphic design or virtually any other creative expression, the Arts-in-Education program is designed to make core classroom curricula, specifically within STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects, more interesting and memorable to students, according to a news release.  A grant previously awarded through the program presented a local chemistry class with the opportunity to experience the art of glassmaking in order to learn about the chemical properties of different materials and objects.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Throughout the month of May, Waynesboro Area Senior High School will host its second annual Art Show, displaying more than 200 pieces of art from students in any of the 24 art classes offered this school year, art teacher Karla Rakszawski said. Students used mediums such as clay, graphite, scratchboard, wire and cut paper to present their images at the Waynesboro Historical Society's Oller House. "I think we have an excellent variety of all levels of art and a wide variety of mediums," said art teacher Karen Papouchek, who has worked at Waynesboro for 30 years.

Kelsi Leigh Koerting and David Clayton Dean were married Saturday, July 26, 2008, at Rocky Gap Resort in Flintstone, Md. The bride is the daughter of Kim and Nanci Koerting of Boonsboro. She is a 2002 graduate of Boonsboro High School and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art education from Shepherd University. She teaches art at Bester Elementary School in Hagerstown. The bridegroom is the son of Tim and Marci Dean of Williamsport. He is a 2001 graduate of North Hagerstown High School and is employed as a CAD draftsman at Miscellaneous Metals Inc., in Frederick, Md. They live in Sharpsburg.

trishr@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - More than 200 works of art produced by Morgan County public and home-schooled students are on display at the Ice House Gallery. Every school in the county is represented, said Sandra Earls, Morgan Arts Council event organizer. The Youth Art Month exhibit opened Friday night with a concert beginning with music performed by Berkeley Springs High School band members and singing by the high school's advanced vocal ensemble.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Charles Jupiter Hamilton has exhibited his artwork in New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C. But on Wednesday morning the only critics he had to please sat cross-legged on the basketball court of South Jefferson Elementary School. Student artists got the chance to meet a real painter and sculptor on Wednesday when Hamilton lectured to them on his artwork and the creative process. "It was cool how he could just go and make stuff that quick," said Sean Cox, 11, a fifth-grader at South Jefferson High School.

Shepherd University junior graphic design major Adam Ritchey, of Greencastle, Pa., won the Poster Clash event at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center in Frederick, Md., on Friday, March 30. The nationwide contest is hosted by the Blue Ridge American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Poster Clash. Melissa Scotton, assistant professor in the Department of Contemporary Art and Theater, said she assigned the poster clash project to her Professional Practices I students as a fun project while they work on preparing their portfolios for sophomore portfolio review.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Imagination, inspiration and good art teachers produced a gallery filled with youth artwork at the ninth annual Morgan County Student Art Exhibit. More than 200 people attended Friday night's exhibit opening at the Ice House Gallery to see the artwork represented by all Morgan County schools and home-schooled students from preschool through 12th grade. Hundreds of pieces were on display, from ceramics to two- and three-dimensional art, and the gala opening included musical and poetry performances by Morgan County students.

The band shell at City Park in Hagerstown reverberated with the sounds of living musical history June 17, when a drum clinic and performance by 87-year-old jazz great George "Butch" Ballard was a highlight of the Art in the Park festival. The third annual festival was sponsored by the Contemporary School for the Arts and Gallery. Ballard shared stories of his seven-decade music career, during which he was a favorite sideman of such legends as Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Clark Terry.

HAGERSTOWN -- Ben Williams' experience with art is exactly what Ron Lytle hopes all students can achieve. Lytle, founder of the Contemporary School of the Arts & Gallery Inc. on West Franklin Street, said he thinks students need to be exposed to art education because it helps them excel in other subjects, like math and science. Ben said he struggled with writing, but since he started studying art, he has become more proficient at creative writing. Williams was part of a group of Mt. Aetna Adventist Elementary School students who had their works exhibited Sunday afternoon at the Contemporary School of the Arts & Gallery.

The second of three buildings forming Shepherd University's Center for Contemporary Arts, a “building designed from the inside out,” was dedicated Thursday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the West Campus. “That's what happens when the inside dictates what the outside of a building looks like,” said Dow Benedict, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. The exterior of the 26,000-square-foot, three-story structure is clad in heavy copper shingles that time will darken with a patina.

In oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography and other media in a variety of genres, Washington County art teachers showcased their work Friday night in the Washington County Arts Council's new space. Nearly 30 teachers submitted more than 40 pieces for “The Arts Educators of Washington County,” which runs through Feb. 27, at the council's gallery at 34-36 S. Potomac St. “We get to teach our students every day, but we also get to live the lifestyle of an artist,” said Kristen Ryan, a teacher at Boonsboro High School.

The Washington County Arts Council invites all art educators in Washington County's public and private schools to enter work for the February 2013 exhibit. This is an invitational exhibition and all work will be accepted. Each educator is allowed to submit two works that have been completed within the last two years. Artwork may be dropped off 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, or Thursday, Jan. 31, at the Washington County Arts Council, 34-36 S. Potomac St., Suite 100, downtown Hagerstown.

Area public school teachers, artists and arts organizations wanting to expand classroom involvement and creative learning may apply for an Arts-in-Education grant through the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation. By integrating painting, sculpture, theater, weaving, music, graphic design or virtually any other creative expression, the Arts-in-Education program is designed to make core classroom curricula, specifically within STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects, more interesting and memorable to students, according to a news release.  A grant previously awarded through the program presented a local chemistry class with the opportunity to experience the art of glassmaking in order to learn about the chemical properties of different materials and objects.

Shepherd University junior graphic design major Adam Ritchey, of Greencastle, Pa., won the Poster Clash event at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center in Frederick, Md., on Friday, March 30. The nationwide contest is hosted by the Blue Ridge American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Poster Clash. Melissa Scotton, assistant professor in the Department of Contemporary Art and Theater, said she assigned the poster clash project to her Professional Practices I students as a fun project while they work on preparing their portfolios for sophomore portfolio review.

Special to The Herald-Mail What does New York painter William Clutz have in common with Washington County Commissioner Jeff Cline?   They each have a keen memory of exhibiting their childhood art at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Cline said he remembers the thrill he experienced as a young person when his sculpture was exhibited in the annual Washington County Public School art exhibition. Through this recognition, Cline experienced first-hand that early arts experiences help develop our citizens for the future, not only through developing their appreciation for the arts, and their reverence for historic and cultural objects, buildings and cities, but also by developing creative- thinking individuals who are devoted to life-long learning and contributing to the greater good.

Morning sunlight streams through a gazebo's glass windows and falls on Patrick Hiatt's paints and canvases. Sometimes, music will play faintly in the background. Otherwise, the silence is broken only by a breeze that shakes the leaves across his property, rearranging the light within. It's a tranquil setting for Hiatt, who, with a sweep of his brush, turns inspiration into art. Working primarily in oil and some pen and ink, the Frederick County, Md., man said he's not committed to any one style or genre - “although I admire and sometimes emulate neoclassicism and surrealism.” He simply has a love of art. “I was born with it,” Hiatt said.

The letter was a testament of Bruce Etchison’s ability to acquire significant works of art for the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts while he was director there from 1950 to 1964. Included in a current exhibit of major works of art he was able to get for the museum is a facsimile of a letter from famous artist Normal Rockwell. Etchison had his heart set on landing a Rockwell painting for the museum and on June 7, 1957, he wrote to Kenneth Stuart, art editor at The Saturday Evening Post, about how to get the job done.

HAGERSTOWN -- Ben Williams' experience with art is exactly what Ron Lytle hopes all students can achieve. Lytle, founder of the Contemporary School of the Arts & Gallery Inc. on West Franklin Street, said he thinks students need to be exposed to art education because it helps them excel in other subjects, like math and science. Ben said he struggled with writing, but since he started studying art, he has become more proficient at creative writing. Williams was part of a group of Mt. Aetna Adventist Elementary School students who had their works exhibited Sunday afternoon at the Contemporary School of the Arts & Gallery.

Kelsi Leigh Koerting and David Clayton Dean were married Saturday, July 26, 2008, at Rocky Gap Resort in Flintstone, Md. The bride is the daughter of Kim and Nanci Koerting of Boonsboro. She is a 2002 graduate of Boonsboro High School and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art education from Shepherd University. She teaches art at Bester Elementary School in Hagerstown. The bridegroom is the son of Tim and Marci Dean of Williamsport. He is a 2001 graduate of North Hagerstown High School and is employed as a CAD draftsman at Miscellaneous Metals Inc., in Frederick, Md. They live in Sharpsburg.