A drawing of a girl is shown here through a creation of an art student.LaFayette High School art teacher Heather Hawkins invites everyone to a free art show at Saddle Ridge School titled Artrageous Antics. The show is being held Saturday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"The purpose of Artrageous Antics is to showcase the talent and creativity of students in visual arts and to bring the public together for art's sake and let them interact with artwork," said Hawkins. "We try to make it as interactive as possible. The main idea is to show off what kids can do. It really is a good picture of what happens in art all year in the classroom."
Visual 2-D artwork from students will be on display from the following schools: Chattanooga Valley Middle, LaFayette Middle, Saddle Ridge Elementary, Saddle Ridge Middle, LaFayette High, Ridgeland High, Naomi Elementary, North LaFayette Elementary, Fairyland Elementary, Gilbert Elementary and Rock Spring Elementary.
Additionally, Naomi Elementary School's dance team will perform, LaFayette students will conduct free face painting and Ridgeland High School art teacher Erika Couey's students will make artist trading cards at the event, said Hawkins. Her own students will create live jester drawings of people in the crowd viewing art, she added.
"If people like what they see then it needs to be heard. Don't let art become a dying art," Hawkins said. "There's only six art teachers now in the county."
Rounding out the day's festivities, the YMCA will be out front with inflatables and other health vendors will be on-site, and the LaFayette Woman's Club will be selling concessions.
"This is our second year to have it at Saddle Ridge and I think our 10th year to host it overall," Hawkins said of the event. "All the teachers can bring in art. There is a flow of people in and out of the school."
Even though the county schools' art program continues to be cut, she said, Artrageous Antics grows larger every year.
Hawkins said she plans to take time off from teaching to raise her child, but that LaFayette High School's art program will continue next year. She noted that when art teachers retire, sometimes the art programs are replaced with STEM subjects instead.