The Mountain Home School Board received a special preview Monday of Hackler Intermediate School’s upcoming Fine Arts Night, an exhibition featuring pet-themed artwork created by students across all grade levels.
Art teachers Dora Norcross and Jennipher Jackson walked board members through the display of student artwork that will be showcased during Tuesday night’s event, scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the school.
“We are having the book fair happening, and we’re having Fine Arts Night,” Norcross explained. “The therapy dogs are coming. It’s a pet theme.”
The art teachers have incorporated literature connections throughout the exhibition. Fifth-grade students created artwork based on their study of “Where the Red Fern Grows,” depicting memorable scenes from the novel.
“They did artwork based off of that novel, and they could take whatever scene from the book that they remembered,” Norcross said. “There’s some really sad ones. That’s my favorite part, and I think the kids enjoyed that.”
Fourth graders contributed artwork inspired by “Because of Winn-Dixie,” while third-grade students created puppy portraits and goldfish art based on the book “Gilbert Wants a Pet.”
“They did watercolors, oil pastels, acrylics. They’ve done a little bit of everything,” Jackson added.
A highlight of the show includes portraits students drew of their teachers’ pets. “The kids love the pet portraits,” Norcross said. “The staff sent in pictures of their pets, and then the students drew them. That was really fun.”
The exhibition will also feature the unveiling of the winning design for the school’s art t-shirt, selected from student submissions. “We had kind of a panel of people,” Norcross told the board about the selection process. “It was hard because Miss Jackson and I don’t want to pick. It’s too hard for us.”
Another special feature of the exhibition will be clay paw prints from the school resource officer’s dog, which were being fired in the kiln during the board meeting.
The event coincides with the school’s book fair, and therapy dogs from the community will be present, including one named Katie. The event organizers expressed hope that predicted storms would move through early in the day and not affect the evening’s festivities.
When asked about resources for the art program, both teachers expressed gratitude for their well-equipped classrooms. “I feel like we do have what we need,” Norcross said. “I think we’re really lucky, especially in this building too. Our room size and everything and sink. Yeah, sinks make a huge difference.”
Board members suggested the possibility of a summer art camp program, which both teachers enthusiastically embraced. “I know that she and I would definitely be interested,” Norcross said.
Concerns about how to select students for such a program prompted discussion about making it open to all interested students rather than competitive. “At this age, you just don’t want to squash someone’s love of art by saying, ‘Oh, you can’t be in the club,’” Norcross explained.
The art show will showcase student work throughout the school building, with the gym being particularly full of displays. School doors will open at 5 p.m. Tuesday for the event, which is free and open to the public.