LOGAN—Millville Elementary School students with the guidance of their art teacher used watercolor to bring to life ecosystems and winter landscapes which will be featured during this year’s Art in Transit: From Schools to Community program.
Art in Transit wraps a Cache Valley Transit District bus featuring the art of students around Cache Valley. The bus was unveiled at this year’s Summerfest which took place last weekend.
“What is great about this project is that it’s just the perfect opportunity to combine what they are learning with art,” Millville art teacher Melissa Wrigley said. “That deepens their learning and their core curriculum.”
This year’s artwork wrapped around the bus showcases Millville fifth and sixth grade students’ interpretations of different ecosystems and winter landscapes in jars inspired by artwork by nature loving artist Jen Aranyi.
Sixth-grade students researched different ecosystems such as desert, ocean, rainforest, coniferous forest, grassland and hydrothermal vents in deep sea while the fifth-grade students explored perspective, color theory and watercolor techniques in creating winter landscapes.
Millville fifth grade student Owen Hanks said as he was creating his piece, he learned about the beauty of the mountains as well as color technique. He excitedly described his art piece to Cache Valley Daily and pointed out his choice to add a cabin and smoke to his piece.
“I feel pretty excited,” Hanks said about his art being on the bus for a year.
Millville sixth-grade student Natalie Adams said she learned how to draw a lot of animals and creative ways to add more animals and details to the ecosystem in her jar. Natalie’s added 25 animals in her piece.
In addition to learning about the different animals in an ecosystem, Natalie said the students learned to work together and get inspiration from each other.
“We like talked to each about what we were doing and like, came up with more ideas about everything,” Natalie said.
Natalie’s mom, Stephanie Adams said the project has inspired students to see things for their possibilities instead of just what they are.
“It’s so great for her and other kids to see that art is important and that it matters and that it can make a difference,” Adams said.
Adams said the project was also a nice way to recognize and validate the hard work students who excel in art.
“Often kids that love the arts don’t get the same amount or maybe even the kind of recognition that kids that excel academically or athletically,” Adams said. “It’s just so cool to see that hard work validated to because it takes time and effort and heart to do it.”
Millville sixth-grade student Hilary Virgin proudly showed her art work depicting a hydrothermal vent in deep sea featuring a colossal squid, lantern fish, box jellyfish and yeti crab among other animals.
Hilary said she was happy and proud that her art work would be on display on the CVTD bus driving around the valley for a year.
She said she learned about the watercolor art form and better techniques as well as learning about the many animals that live in the ecosystem she chose.
Hilary’s mom Megan Virgin said for Hilary to have the opportunity to share her art and seeing it brings others joy is cool and gives her daughter confidence.
“I watched her knowledge grow as she learned about that,” Virgin said. “She hasn’t done water color as many times and so she progressed in that style of art.”
Millville sixth-grade teacher Emily Sorenson said Wrigley did a great job asking what the students are learning in the classroom to integrate it in her art class.
Sorenson was excited to see the creation the students made and said integrating the art with the students’ core classes helps show a new level of understanding.
“Looking at what they’ve drawn is very cool,” Sorenson said. “It’s interesting to see that they really did understand the topic that they were given and they were able to incorporate that in their art class.”
In addition to the bus wrap, five buses will also have placards inside the bus featuring the artwork from the Millville students.
According to Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Director for Elementary Arts Education Aurora Villa, this year another school would also be featured on an additional five buses with bus placards from Sunrise Elementary School students.
Sunrise students worked with their art teacher Lori Pomeroy to create mosaic murals representing Utah habitats.
Pomeroy had sixth grade students involved in the overall planning and designing of the large-scale mosaics. First through sixth-grade students then helped with the mural by cutting and gluing glass tiles on the murals. The murals were installed at Sunrise.
The bus wrapped with the artwork and the bus placards will be in rotation for at least a year.
Wrigley said she was happy her students and their hard work was recognized.
“Just for me, this is as good as it gets,” Wrigley said. “Just to have my students highlighted and recognized for their hard work.”