Special to The Message
Holy Rosary School in Evansville held its 7th Annual Respect Life Art Show Feb. 4 with student artwork on display in the atrium of Holy Rosary Church. Michelle Weisman, K-8 art teacher, welcomed students, families and parishioners to the art show before students led the awards ceremony with their art room prayer.
Weisman thanked Reitz Memorial High School for lending the display panels for the show. She thanked the Respect Life Committee for sponsoring the contest, for their assistance and continued support. She thanked Catholic Financial Life Branch 1051 out of St. Henry for the $500 donation that purchased repoussé metal, carving tools and metallic paints used in several projects. Finally, she thanked, “the students for working so hard on these projects, for caring about the process, and for exceeding my expectations! It is an honor to be your guide and biggest cheerleader!”
All finalists received an award certificate from Weisman, while the Respect Life Committee provided monetary gift cards to the winners in each category: first-place winners were given Azzip Pizza gift cards, second-place winners received Donut Bank gift cards and third-place winners were given Lic’s Deli & Ice Cream gift cards.
The top three finalists and winners in each division for 2023-24 are:
- Kindergarten to second grade: First place, Marshall Ray, second grade; second place, Daniel Hunt, kindergarten; third place, Noelle Santana, kindergarten
- Third grade to fifth grade: First place, Desiree Mahinay, fifth grade; second place, Eliza Whitney, third grade; third place, Vivien Plant, fourth grade
- Sixth grade to eighth grade: First place, Marcus Gatz, seventh grade; second place, Brianna Flores, sixth grade; and third place, Taylor Fairchild, eighth grade
Each grade level discussed varying aspects of respecting life, which is what helped students focus their projects. Following are brief project descriptions.
Kindergarten – They discussed how doves are a symbol of peace and the Holy Spirit in the Catholic faith, and how oil and water do not mix. They looked at flying white doves and created a simple line drawing using oil pastels.
First grade – Students retold the story of Noah, including what they remembered of Noah sending out birds to look for dry land. They remembered the dove found a twig and God sent a rainbow to remind Noah of hope and His love. Using yarn and a twig found outside, students created a rainbow using a simple Macramé knot.
Second grade – Students spent time studying saints and what they did during their lives. They didn’t focus on the details of the person, so they could focus on the achievements and ideals of the saints.
Third grade - After watching a video tour of the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, France, students created white windows using vibrant tissue paper that included black silhouettes of symbols that reminded them of the Holy Family and our Catholic faith.
Fourth grade – Students studied photos of stained-glass windows from Holy Rosary and other churches around the world, then folded and cut simple shapes and symbols out of black paper. The shapes were filled with frosted paper and tissue paper to recreate the look of vibrant stained-glass windows. New this year, they utilized metal and carving tools from a Catholic Financial Life donation to create repoussé carved symbols as a second piece of artwork.
Fifth grade – Students found inspiration in the works of Russian artist Marc Chagall, students used soft pastels on white paper to create impressionistic images of the Holy Family.
Sixth grade – Students completed a photo tour of Holy Rosary Church and school, then used Bristol paper, ultra-fine-tipped markers and felt-tip markers to create works with images of our faith — based on images seen in the photo tour — using stippling, scumbling and hatching lines.
Seventh grade – Students talked about Jesus and how he is depicted in artwork around the world, then they created portraits of Christ using many types of media, including watercolor paints, oil pastels, acrylic painting, metal carving repoussé and mixes of media.
Eighth grade – Students discussed the choices we make to respect others. Then, they were taught how to make sculptures using wire clothes hangers, nylon socks and a piece of wood. Some students created a symbol of our faith, while others created an abstract 3D form.