OXFORD – The Oxford Academy School district’s “Second Annual End of Year Art Show” at 6 on the Square (6OTS) has received rave reviews. Art made by Pre-K through high school students demonstrate their advanced understanding of techniques and wonderful creative expressions. During the show’s reception, the art display was the star attraction but the teachers and their students were beaming and with good reason. Subsequent visitors will find that the show is both enlightening, impressive, and gratifying when seeing the rich level of art being produced in school today.

6OTS, the local music and art venue, hosted an opening reception for the student’s end of year art show on June 3, which attracted around one hundred students, friends and family members to the event. Kid-friendly refreshments, music, spotlights, and the elegant nature of the setting (with original Walter Gurbo modern art painted on the back walls), heightened the excitement of the occasion. The Oxford Academy art teachers, Katie Thomas - Primary School; Charity Gipp - Middle School, and Joni Eaton - High School, were on-hand describing some of the outstanding student’s artwork and the assignments that motivated them.

The broad range of art pieces cover line drawings to abstract paintings. Some of the works are Aboriginal prints, calligraphy, tessellations/mosaics, mandalas, and more. Educational study projects covered perspective, color (warm/cool; mixing primaries into secondary and tertiary; and shading; material use such as watercolors, acrylics, oil pastels, pencils, textured metal, and more. Students were also challenged with doing their own interpretation of favorite artists’ work such as Haring, Degas, Monet, Manet, and others. Some just expressed their muse, but what-ever the project, their joy was evident.