Gallery pops up at Sisters Elementary School

The month of May saw a burst of art activities in Sisters. Popular events like an annual parade, a music show at The Belfry, and big fundraiser at Ponderosa Forge brought townspeople out in force for My Own Two Hands (MOTH). Meanwhile, a less publicized art show popped up: a temporary gallery inside the Commons Room of Sisters Elementary School.

For the SES Art Gallery, students carefully assembled their work from the school year's art classes into a portfolio. Where a professional artist's portfolio would be sandwiched between prestigious black boards, the kids housed theirs in long strips of green butcher paper, taped up at the sides. Each child sat at a table with their work, showing it to parents, volunteers, and teachers, who circulated the room asking questions.

"I see excitement and pride coming from Sam," said Angelena Bosco, whose son Sam is in first grade at SES. "He's really proud of the work that he does, especially when he gets any kind of acknowledgement." The SES Art Gallery provided an opportunity for Sam and other students to receive feedback and encouragement. "I think it gives him impetus to continue practicing drawing at home-having the conversations lets him know that what he's done is creative and valuable and good."

The gallery and the instruction leading up to it benefit from MOTH fundraising. Under the aegis of Sisters Folk Festival, MOTH supports music and arts programming in the Sisters schools and around the community, including the celebrated Americana Project. The elementary school's art program is also supported in part by MOTH.

Parents expressed gratitude for the school district's arts offerings. "Art is an outlet for kids," said Mandee Seely, whose children Paxton and Amaya both attend SES. "It helps them use their imagination and do things other than stare at a screen."

Bosco is experienced with children. She founded a summer day camp for young entrepreneurs, teaches cooking classes at Cascades Academy and SPRD, and works in food services at the elementary school. "I enjoy seeing what the kids do," she says of the art frequently hanging at SES. She especially appreciates the paintings she sees coming out of the classroom of Clayton Warburton, a fourth-grade teacher who is also a working artist. "They've made really nice artwork-it's not just scribbled-out stuff."

Bosco said the kids made pictures answering the question: "What color is the wind?" with art teacher Karen Williams. "Those are hanging in the school Commons right now. It was fun to see how much Karen Williams loves teaching and how much the pictures moved her."