Art students shine at Prairie Lea Art Show

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

Prairie Lea Independent School District’s art teacher, Corina Esquivel, outdid herself on Thursday, May 15. She pulled off a bigger and better art show this year by expanding the second annual PLISD school art show to include all grade levels, rather than just high school students like last year.
Esquivel took her show on th

e road in 2008. Actually, it was more like “across the road.” The Second Annual Prairie Lea Art Show was held at the Tri-Community Civic Center, located directly across from the Prairie Lea High School.
Last year’s show was held at the PLHS auditorium, and even though it showcased only high school students’ artwork, Esquivel quickly discovered the space was too small for the amount of art that needed to be displayed.
This year’s show had more than enough space for art lovers to walk around and admire the great works of art.
Student artwork included paintings, drawings, sketches and mixed-media projects. Some of the work was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand while other pieces were as big as a door.
The show included painted chairs, paper mache masks made to look like African masks. Another section featured Mardi Gras masks. There were Egyptian foil art
works that were tapped into pyramids, crosses, Pharaohs and a host of other Egyptian themes.
The show featured sculptures that ranged from wire art to ceramics to models made of sticks, cardboard, paper and some found objects, to Greek low reliefs.
The Prairie Lea art students did an outstanding job representing different forms of art. They were prolific in their works accomplishing many finished projects by using incredibly diverse means of creating.
PLISD is blessed to have such a rich art program in their schools. The evidence is clear. Art is definitely a positive means of inviting students to open their minds, to take creative risks, to see things in a different light, to share their talents and feel empowered by their creativity and talent. Oh, and yes, they get to learn a lot about other subjects through the process of creating art.
It would be wonderful to see all school districts treat art as an essential component to the learning process.
Kudos to Esquivel and her remarkable artists for treating the community of Prairie Lea to a fantastic art show. They truly out did themselves.
See you next year.
agarza@post-register.com