A Year's Worth of Creativity at the Spring Art Show and Concert
This year's Upper School Spring Art Show and Concert felt exhilarating, almost like graduation. In the Center for Creativity's Kiva, students joined together in joyful, boisterous groups, relishing the opportunity to share their creativity with friends and family members. In the Trustey Family Theatre, sixth through ninth graders sat together and cheered their classmates on stage as faculty, staff, family members, and Lower School fans joined in the celebration.
Watch the concert video:
Why such an energized atmosphere at this annual event?
The Upper School Spring Art Show and Concert - much like the Lower School's Art Show and World Music Concert that happens a few weeks earlier in the year - is always a grand culmination, a summing up of all the remarkable creative effort that students have put into an incredibly diverse range of projects completed throughout the school year. It is one of the very few occasions on which a visitor can see the true scope of imagination that fuels the activity in the Center for Creativity every day.
But this year, more than just a festival of creative accomplishments, the annual art and music event seemed to celebrate Shore Country Day School itself. The arts, always a core element of Shore's program, over just a few short years in a new facility have grown in ambition and impact to such a degree that two floors of Kiva gallery space and a fast-paced 90-minute concert could scarcely contain them. New eighth grade arts elective courses such as Digital Darkroom and Woodworking added works all-new media to the already full range of creative approaches.
It is that stunning breadth and depth that may have may have been the source of the high energy at this year's show: the thrill of seeing and hearing so many thoughtful, funny, profound, emotional works all at once, all in once place. Showcasing an impressive body of creative output, including everything from a sixth grader's first voice solo to a ninth grader's refined ceramic tea set, the Upper School Spring Art Show and Concert was clear proof that the arts have arrived at Shore - and more than that, they've provided the means for our students and faculty to inspire the school community more profoundly than ever.
Highlights of this year's show included:
"Decades" - Jennifer Boyum led a whirlwind tour of music highlights from the 1950s through the 1990s including hits from Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette, the Beatles, Queen, Abba, Nirvana, and more.
Acrylic still-lifes - Grade 6 students incorporated techniques such as sfumato, impasto, and chiaroscuro into these delicate works.
Wood cutting boards - Grade 8 students in this arts elective course created professional-quality boards using beautiful cherry and maple stock. They learned to use the iLab's bandsaw, router, planer, jointer, and electric and hand sanding tools in creating their unique boards.
3D stained glass - Eighth graders created cubes composed of miniature stained glass windows whose colors and patterns play against each other depending on how the object is viewed. Students cut, shaped, and polished each individual piece of glass before soldering them together into the windows.
Islamic-style clay tiles - Sixth graders created traditional-style tiles in an interdisciplinary course combining mathematics, language arts, and art. They learned about the history and culture of Afghanistan, designed geometric forms based on Islamic patterns, and then transferred and color glazed their works on clay.
Block prints - Grade 7 students carved away the surface of linoleum, wood, or rubber pieces, then experimented with color overlays and tone blocks to create their prints.
Digital Darkroom photos - Eight graders learned manual control techniques for digital photography, and then tackled a series of shooting challenges built around concepts such as use of focus or portraiture.
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Watch the concert video:
Why such an energized atmosphere at this annual event?
The Upper School Spring Art Show and Concert - much like the Lower School's Art Show and World Music Concert that happens a few weeks earlier in the year - is always a grand culmination, a summing up of all the remarkable creative effort that students have put into an incredibly diverse range of projects completed throughout the school year. It is one of the very few occasions on which a visitor can see the true scope of imagination that fuels the activity in the Center for Creativity every day.
But this year, more than just a festival of creative accomplishments, the annual art and music event seemed to celebrate Shore Country Day School itself. The arts, always a core element of Shore's program, over just a few short years in a new facility have grown in ambition and impact to such a degree that two floors of Kiva gallery space and a fast-paced 90-minute concert could scarcely contain them. New eighth grade arts elective courses such as Digital Darkroom and Woodworking added works all-new media to the already full range of creative approaches.
It is that stunning breadth and depth that may have may have been the source of the high energy at this year's show: the thrill of seeing and hearing so many thoughtful, funny, profound, emotional works all at once, all in once place. Showcasing an impressive body of creative output, including everything from a sixth grader's first voice solo to a ninth grader's refined ceramic tea set, the Upper School Spring Art Show and Concert was clear proof that the arts have arrived at Shore - and more than that, they've provided the means for our students and faculty to inspire the school community more profoundly than ever.
Highlights of this year's show included:
"Decades" - Jennifer Boyum led a whirlwind tour of music highlights from the 1950s through the 1990s including hits from Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette, the Beatles, Queen, Abba, Nirvana, and more.
Acrylic still-lifes - Grade 6 students incorporated techniques such as sfumato, impasto, and chiaroscuro into these delicate works.
Wood cutting boards - Grade 8 students in this arts elective course created professional-quality boards using beautiful cherry and maple stock. They learned to use the iLab's bandsaw, router, planer, jointer, and electric and hand sanding tools in creating their unique boards.
3D stained glass - Eighth graders created cubes composed of miniature stained glass windows whose colors and patterns play against each other depending on how the object is viewed. Students cut, shaped, and polished each individual piece of glass before soldering them together into the windows.
Islamic-style clay tiles - Sixth graders created traditional-style tiles in an interdisciplinary course combining mathematics, language arts, and art. They learned about the history and culture of Afghanistan, designed geometric forms based on Islamic patterns, and then transferred and color glazed their works on clay.
Block prints - Grade 7 students carved away the surface of linoleum, wood, or rubber pieces, then experimented with color overlays and tone blocks to create their prints.
Digital Darkroom photos - Eight graders learned manual control techniques for digital photography, and then tackled a series of shooting challenges built around concepts such as use of focus or portraiture.
Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, scholarships, and loans, and its educational, athletic, and other programs.