Top Art Pieces Honored at UWS Contest
By Julie Snyder
Senior Carol Erickson created this ceramic piece for the UW-Superior Art Show. This piece was displayed to the public at the UW-Superior campus Feb. 2-26. Photo by Kyler Krob
Senior Nicole McGuirk proudly displayed a piece of art at the fourth annual UW-Superior art show. The art show was put on as a learning experience for UWS students who plan on becoming art teachers.
Duluth and Superior school district art classes were invited to submit 50 pieces of artwork that were displayed Feb. 2-26 in the UWS art gallery. The chosen artwork came from elementary, middle and high schools in the Twin Ports.
Art teacher Denise Schraufnagel notified McGuirk that her acrylic painted cheetah was chosen for the art show. She made the cheetah for a class assignment, in which they were supposed to create a piece of realistic wildlife and add an artistic spin on it.
“I’m proud of myself for creating a piece that someone else is proud of and would want to have it displayed,” McGuirk said.
McGuirk said that she normally takes longer than the average student to complete her pieces. This particular piece took about a month of class time to finish.
It was a juried art show, which is like a contest. The UWS students who are looking to earn their teaching degree judged the pieces for first, second and third place. Prizes were given to the corresponding winners.
Schraufnagel submitted eight of her students’ two-dimensional pieces of work and ceramics teacher Nikkee Francisco submitted eight three-dimensional pieces.
Schraufnagel followed certain guidelines when choosing artwork. She chose one piece per student and chose a variety of styles like acrylic, water color and pastels. She also looked for art of high skill-level with spunk, personality and message in the pieces.
Francisco chose ceramic pieces from all levels of her classes.
“I look for a high skill-level, showing mastery of the techniques, unique design maybe in color or texture and a piece that can stand on its own and intrigue the viewers,” Francisco said.
The art teachers often help each other choose what pieces to submit. For example, Schraufnagel chose a pool of artwork that met her standards with the input from the other teachers.
On the closing night of the art show, Feb. 26, there was a ceremony where Professor Kathy Hubbard thanked all the students and teachers that contributed artwork to the show.
