PG High holds juried art show

TEXARKANA, Texas — After having to cancel for the first time in 23 years, last year Pleasant Grove High School got back to tradition with its annual Juried Art Exhibition and Senior Show on Monday evening.

The program featured more than 500 individual works on display, seven senior portfolios and eight group installations. Works included drawing, painting, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, digital design, photography, printmaking, product design, assemblage and 2D design.

School Arts Contributing Editor Nicole Brisco said it was nice to get back in the swing of things after not being able to hold the event last year.

“It’s probably the single most important thing, as far as an art department goes — being able to showcase students’ work,” she said. “Art in a storage box doesn’t do us a ton of good. And you never really can see work virtually like you can see it in person. That experience for our students to be able to come to what looks like a professional art exhibition is important because a lot of students don’t have that opportunity.”

While it was a success for current students, she said she feels for last year’s seniors, who weren’t able to display their works in this setting.

“I would be remiss not to mention my seniors last year because they are the ones who were really at a loss,” Brisco said. “They had worked all four years in high school to be able to have their senior show. But as far as the rest of the students, I’ve really noticed a lot of enthusiasm. It’s a special night for them.”

Brisco said this experience is not only huge for art students looking to make a career out of it, but also for those who won’t be a part of something like this anywhere else.

“Some of my students will go on into some type of professional art career. And some students won’t,” she said. “I have students who have gone on to become writers and doctors and every other field that’s not art. Either way, what I have noticed over the years is both sets of students value it. Because for the student who’s an artist, it prepares them for the future, and for the student who’s not, this was their opportunity to be able to have that experience that they probably won’t have later in life — an opportunity to shine.”

At the end of the day, she said she is very proud of the work her students put out there. “There’s no doubt that the work quality goes up every single year,” Brisco said. “When I think back to 23 years ago when I first started, we displayed 150 pieces of artwork. It’s evident that growth has happened over the years. I just feel incredibly proud because I can actually see all of that hard work.”

Emergent

Honorable mention – Madison Davis

Fourth place — Jordan Conley

Third place — Addison Spencer and Faye Addison

Second place — Erica Zoficn

First place — Ruby Rehkopf

Sculpture

Honorable mention – Will Estes and Lily Buck

Fourth place — Matthew Thomas and Caitlyn Dyer

Third place — Logan Knowles

Second place — Mason Burrow

First place — Matthew Angier

Printmaking

Honorable mention – Brianna Jackson

Fourth place – Ema Allen Third place — Mason Burrow

Second place — Matthew Thomas

First place — Gracie Carr Narrative

Honorable mentio — Katie Cheatham and Ellie Coker Fourth place — Jay Branch Third place — Abby Yowell and Anna Johnson

Second place — Emma Sanderson

First place — Kendall Johnson

Mixed Media

Honorable mention — Ava Keyes and Elliot White

Fourth place — Emma Henard

Third place — Anna Johnson

Second place — Bladen Formes and Madison Ethridge

First place — Gracie Kennedy and Simren Pokhrel

Design

Honorable mention — Emma Beck

Fourth place — Leslie Reyes

Third place — Madison Ethridge

Second place — Simren Pokhrel

First place — Ellie Tye

Drawing

Honorable mention — Zoe Sturgeon

Fourth place — Leslie Reyes Third place — Erica Zoficn Second place — Daphne Sexson

First place — Emma Sanderson

Painting

Honorable mention — Emma Sanderson

Fourth place — Emma Henard

Third place — Ruby Rehkopf

Second place — Iris Rivera

1st place — Aubrey Oller

Purchase Awards

Keyettes — Ellie Tye

Athletics — Maddie Ethridge

Athletics — Simren Pokhrel

Drama — Daphne Sexson

NAHS — Iris Rivera

PGISD — Emma Sanderson

PGHS — Aubrey Oller

Best of Show — Emma Sanderson

Staff photo by Kelsi Brinkmeyer ■ Works of art are pictured at the entrace of Pleasant Grove High School’s Juried Art Exhibition, which took place Monday evening and featured more than 500 works created by PGHS art program students.