Children's Art of the High Country at TCVA
Nathan Cummings delivers his artwork to the Turchin Center, in preparation for the Children's Art of the High Country exhibit.
Be prepared to smile.
The first-ever juried Children's
Art of the High Country exhibit opens this Friday, Feb. 4, in the Catwalk Gallery in the Turchin
Center for the Visual Arts on the Appalachian State University campus.
Organized by the
High Country's only nonprofit children's museum, The Children's Playhouse, the exhibit features 65
artworks from 50 young High Country artists ranging in age from infancy up to eighth grade.
"If you are parent of grown children, it may remind you of the many masterpieces that graced
your refrigerator in years past," a Playhouse spokesperson said. "After weeks of staring at snow and
ice, you'll find their bright colors and strong lines will lift your spirits while reminding all of
us, as Playhouse board member and ASU professor Martha McCaughey said, 'Creative expression is a joy
and a skill essential for adult life.'"
A public reception celebrating the exhibit will be
held at the Turchin Center from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 4. The exhibit runs through March 26,
2011.
The Children's Playhouse received nearly 100 submissions of artwork. Selections for the
exhibit were made by jurors Christy Chenausky, Lora Davis and David Modler. While the jurors
appreciated all of the artwork, they accepted those works that they felt revealed originality,
authenticity, self-direction and self-expression. A larger exhibit of children's art is also
available for viewing on The Children's Playhouse website, http://www.goplayhouse.org.
Taken as a
whole, this vibrant collection reflects the joy of art-making and the beautiful process of a child's
intellectual, physical, and emotional development, Playhouse executive director Kathy Parham said.
"To dip a brush in paint and make a mark is maybe the ultimate 'cause and effect' experience
for a child," Parham said. "Whether they are creating geometric forms in the medium of Play-Doh or
mixing blue paint and red paint with their fingers, they are artists learning to express themselves
and they are also scientists making discoveries."
Children's Art of the High Country
benefits The Children's Playhouse and is sponsored in part by grants from the High Country Water
Media Society, the Watauga County Arts Council, Kiwanis Club of Boone, and Purveyors of
Art.
For more information on the Children's Playhouse, call (828) 263-0011 or click to
http://www.goplayhouse.org.
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts is located at 423 W. King St. in
downtown Boone.
