From left are Fairyland Elementary School art teacher Beth Bradford; LaFayette High School student artist Krista Headrick; Fairyland Elementary fifth-grader Melissa Knight, holding her Civil War drawing; LHS art teacher Heather Hawkins; Gilbert Elementary School student Cayenne Russ, holding her pastel drawing of a bowl of fruit; GES art teacher Chris Sandow and art student Madison Brown, holding her horses drawing; GES' Madison Brown, who created a Johnny Cash drawing; and Ridgeland High School art teacher Erika Couey and student artist Alli Crow.It's been several years since local art was recognized for the Capitol Art Exhibit. But if it wasn't for Wildflour Bakery, the local students whose art was selected may not have been recognized.
The Capitol Art Exhibit displayed inside the LaFayette bakery was originally planned to be held on the main floor of the Floyd Twin Towers in Atlanta, but the show was canceled due to snow. So, Wildflour stepped up to let local artists still be recognized for making the cut.
On April 21, the student artists gathered inside the bakery to showcase their artwork, which is sponsored by the Georgia Art Education Association as the premier event of Youth Art Month and typically part of the largest student exhibit in the state.
"The legislators normally come in for the reception and take photographs," said Gilbert Elementary School art teacher Chris Sandow. "Since the art show was canceled in Atlanta, it was moved here. It is Walker County student artwork selected for the 2014 Capitol Art Exhibit. Wildflour Bakery is a heavily traveled place, so a lot of people can see the artwork here."
Though the artwork is no longer on display there, those interested can see it and more student produced artwork at the Advancing Education Center in Chickamauga as part of Artrageous Antics, the annual art show for Walker County students. The show begins Saturday, May 3 and runs for a week, ending May 10 with a special event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.