The annual Revelstoke Secondary School’s exhibition at the Visual Arts Centre has become known for showcasing the works of the community’s artistically talented youth – and this year is no different.
“I’m so proud of the work and all of the talent they’ve put on display,” said Greg Kenyon, principal at RSS during his speech at the exhibition opening this past Friday. “This is where I love being a principal. I get to come out here, I get to express how proud I am of our students, I get to express how happy I am with the efforts of our staff members and I get to comment on the great partnerships we have within the community of Revelstoke, and all of those are true tonight.”
The show, Presentation, Representation and Manifestation, includes more than 130 pieces of art completed by 70 students. Of those works, 60 were completed by five students selected to have a solo show in the side galleries.
Photo: Gabrielle Sawatzky was one of five students chosen to exhibit multiple works.
“We have five very talented artists who bravely decided they would like to do a solo who,” said Jackie Pendergast, Visual Arts Centre. “I congratulate you all on the fantastic job you’ve done. We’re surrounded by an amazing selection of art from our students in the high school. We’re always blown away by the quality of work that comes in.”
The five students selected to exhibit their work in a solo show were: Cailin English, Abigail Brackenbury, Tia Sakiyama, Sierra-Lynn Frazier, and Gabrielle Sawatsky.
For English, a Grade 12 student, it was old hat as she was featured in the solo exhibition last year, however she said preparing for the show was still tough.
“It took a lot of effort, but drawing is my biggest passion and it comes effortlessly. I draw very quickly so I’m really happy when my work comes out looking good enough to put in a gallery,” she said. “My Geisha she took two or three weeks to do. I had about an hour each day to work on her, she took the longest. Preparing for the gallery is definitely tough, but I did it last year and I was so excited to do it again this year.”
Fellow Grade 12 students Frazier and Sawatsky both had different experiences in preparing for their solo shows. Frazier, who completed 21 pieces in total with 16 on display, didn’t start working on any of the pieces until September. “It definitely took a lot of hours to get 16 pieces. Some of them took 30 plus hours to do. It’s a lot of time, effort to do,” she said.
In contrast, Sawatsky chose to use some older art pieces for her solo show.
“We had to submit at least 10 pieces. It could either be from our past art or new pieces,” she said. “We picked our favourite ones. We did a series of pieces according to what our theme was. We had to frame our artwork.”
Photo: Sierra-Lynn Frazier showcases her art work.
Presentation, Representation and Manifestation is on display at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre until May 27. Visit the gallery’s website for opening hours.
