The Art Exhibit, the first of its kind at Forest Park Adventist Christian School in Everett, Wash., premiered the evening of May 12. The exhibit showcased more than 250 exciting works produced by kindergarten through eighth-grade students throughout the year.
The Art Exhibit, which opened immediately after the school's spring concert, was a surprise to many of the parents and students. Under the direction of Maria Hamilton, the exhibit allowed students, parents and guests the opportunity to experience the breathtaking array of colors and textures captured in the student art projects.
For the past two years, Forest Park students have been blessed with an enhanced art curriculum. Hamilton, a Pacific Union College graduate with Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts and Masters of Education degrees, volunteers her time to teach three classes of art each week. She loves art and the “messy creativity of students.”
Regarding her art classes, Hamilton says, “Because I want the students to find something that they love or at least enjoy doing with art, we use a wide variety of mediums to give them the opportunity to experiment. Over the course of the year, I have seen the less-enthusiastic students become engaged, and art class has become a thoroughly fun place to spend time.”
The displayed art projects were primarily period art. They included cave painting with oil pastels, aboriginal X-ray painting, chalk, Japanese block printing, Roman mosaics, watercolors, clay and papier-mache.
Katie Conrad, a seventh-grade student, says she “was really impressed by the beautiful display, which highlighted the projects.”
Alyssa, Katie’s sister, adds, “Mrs. Hamilton is a fun teacher who sets up great projects for all the students.”
Forest Park Adventist Christian School, a two-teacher school, is blessed to have many volunteers, like Hamilton, who help to round out the curriculum, assist student learning and help students to develop their talents. Each one is committed to Adventist education and the salvation of each student.
Maria Hamilton volunteers to teach art at Forest Park Adventist Christian School.
Kindergarten student Jessica Yashyna points out one of her projects.
