For the past five years, Oakdale High School has held an event called the Oakdale Spring Art Show. This event displays the magnificent artwork that students have created throughout the school year.

The opening day for the art show was Wednesday, April 26th, which was also the day that parents and families were allowed to come and see the artwork their students have created. The artwork typically stays up for a week in the OHS Media Center for other students to see before being taken down.

Patricia Stockman, an art teacher at Oakdale High School, explained: “The art show is meant to showcase artwork of any OHS student who had an art class this school year”. It was also revealed that, in order to enter the art show, the student needs to have had an art class at some point in the current school year and teachers currently cannot enter into this show.

Stockman is not the only teacher involved in the art show. The other art teachers of Oakdale High School, Amy Pyles, and Bill Bingman, are also involved. They choose art pieces starting from the beginning of the school year to the date of the art show, Pyles says it’s a “year-long process”.

Stockman also conveyed that, “Each student is allowed to put one piece of artwork per art class. If someone took ceramics and drawing, he/she can do one piece of art per class rather than one piece per student”. The students enter their ceramic projects, photos and paintings in the art show.

Pyles says the art show is “a collection to get experience to have all students show their work”. The students get to choose their personal best artwork to enter in the show. They work hard and put in the time to create amazing pieces of art. This gives them the opportunity to show off their talent and be recognized for it.

Oakdale Freshman, Anisa Asad entered into this year’s art show with two pieces of art. The first one is a painting with the second piece being a drawing. About the process, she replied, “They were from first semester and we worked on them for three weeks”. The criteria required for her artwork was to take a photo of a specific angle of an urban or rural environment and turn it into a painting or drawing. Asad had no prior knowledge of the art show before this and when asked if she would enter again in the future she gladly replied “ yeah, I would definitely do it”.

The teachers involved in the art show nominate three pieces of artwork by different students to the County Show in March at Delaplaine. The show is K-12th grade, it’s a big event that a lot of people attend. It’s a special moment for the students to have their art viewed by people outside the school and their family.
Overall the student art show is a great way for family and friends to see the artwork that has been demonstrated by the students throughout the school year. They have a chance to appreciate the different art forms presented. This event is never dull as there are always new art pieces every year for viewing and is not an event to miss.