Celebrating art for 25 years at Wetumpka Elementary School

From historical cave drawings from 40,000 years ago to today’s computer-generated art,  art has evolved. At Wetumpka Elementary School, art has advanced from construction paper to animation over the last 25 years.

It is all celebrated at Art Under the Stars at the school.

“It was once at all the elementary schools across the county,” principal Gigi Hankins said. “We started before everyone else and we are still continuing to do it. It is one of our biggest events to bring in the parents.”

Teachers save all the artwork students create throughout the year. Near the end of the school year, the halls of the school become a gallery, where students serve as docents for their parents.

“The kids love to explain to the parents what they did,” second grade teacher Taryn Brodie said.

For students whose strengths lie in art, the gallery gives them an opportunity to highlight their achievements.

“We are able to celebrate all students,” Hankins said. “It is especially important to the students whose academics may not be the strongest. Art can be a very good outlet for them.”

Brodie looked at art as a way to help students decompress after stressful times at school. 

“We studied Matisse who painted while sick in bed,” Brodie said. “He drew on the ceiling with chalk. After ACAP, my kids got to lay on the floor underneath their desks and do their own self portraits. They are not used to drawing like that.”

Second graders also ventured beyond what many consider art for elementary students when technology integration specialist Melissa Easley reached out to Brodie to use technology as part of the Art Under the Stars presentation.

Easley helped direct students through a drawing and then those were scanned and uploaded to a website.

“The students with Easley’s help were able to create animations,” Brodie said. “Some are dancing, like running across the screen.”

 Brodie and Easley aided the students with creating QR codes to present their animations for Art Under the Stars. Parents and guests could then follow the QR code with their phones to the student’s animation.

The animation process involved even more art lessons.

“They talked about cartoons a long time ago (that) had to be created one picture at a time,” Brodie said. “Now the cartoons can use technology to create the animation.”

The animation was only available to second graders this year. But just like Art Under the Stars will continue, Brodie hopes the animation will too.

“We loved it,” Brodie said. “This is something we hope to have her come back and do again.”