The Superintendent’s Gallery is a place for student artists to present their work to the whole district and receive the plaudits they’re due. Trysten Bodsford from Walkertown High School earned more recognition than she expected from the gallery when she got an offer on her first oil painting.
Working in a new medium for the first time, Bodsford says she spent about half a semester perfecting the piece. There were multiple restarts and minor details that had to be altered before it was ready, but she was very proud of the final result. The painting depicts a woman’s face nearly lost in a massive tangle of red hair, a scenario Bodsford used to evoke feelings of being overwhelmed.
“I wanted to do something that made you think of emotions flowing and the feeling of not knowing,” Bodsford said.
The painting is one of dozens that has hung at the district’s central office since last February as part of the gallery, and it’s a personal favorite Human Resources Specialist Beth Stephens. She liked it so much, in fact, that she reached out to the district’s arts department and arranged to buy the painting from Bodsford shortly before it was set to be rotated out of the gallery. Not only does she think the piece is beautifully made, but she appreciated seeing such an artistic representation of hair similar to her own.
“I identify with it,” Stephens said. “It feels like it calls out my name every time I see it.”
A painting has never been sold through the Superintendent’s Gallery in the two years since it was founded, and Lead Visual Arts Teacher Sara Crater says that selling the art has never been part of the plan (the money is going exclusively to Bodsford). However, she sees this sale as a testament to the success of the program as a cultural touchstone for the district. It was supposed to inspire and enliven everyone who walks into the building with the potential of student art, and it’s clearly striking that chord.
“We get so many compliments about the life that it brings into the building, because things don’t have to look so drab,” Crater said. “The gallery is bringing everyone together.”
Nina Street, Bodsford’s art teacher, says that the gallery has also been a great way to incentivize her students to get creative. Many of them go above and beyond in their art projects because they hope that their next piece could be the one that gets recommended for the district-wide showcase. Hearing that the art in the Superintendent’s Gallery is getting so much attention that it has now attracted a buyer is sure to motivate them even more.
“It gives kids something to aspire to,” Street said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
The next round of installments for the Superintendent’s Gallery will be revealed in a public reception on Thursday, January 30.