Art by students, parents showcased

Devon Ivester, 9, loved putting his personality into his sun mask.

"I used some of the things I've seen on video games to help, but I thought it came out pretty good," he said.

The Monroe Elementary student said his favorite part was folding and cutting the papers he used to decorate the mask. Devon and his mother, Tamera Derushia, both made the masks during an Imagination Celebration Family Art Workshop the school held a few months ago. Devon's mask was chosen as one of more than 100 pieces of art for a special exhibit at the City and County Building during April.

The exhibit consists of artwork produced by local students, like Devon, and their families in family art workshops which were part of the 2006-2007 Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration at Salt Lake City. An opening reception for the exhibit was held April 2 at the City and County Building. Artwork on display includes skeleton sculptures, watercolor butterflies, artist trading cards, designer dirt and more. Some of the art pieces were even made by parents.

Megan Davis Brown said the art nights were designed as a way to draw families into schools to work on art together. This year all projects centered on science.

"Art is something a lot of cultures in the city can appreciate," she said. "When the students see artwork made by their parents, they're just as proud of it as they are of their own. Parents and children can work together in a positive environment."

Nine elementary schools participated in the family art workshops: Backman, Edison, Highland Park, Hillsdale, Jackson, Monroe, Nibley Park, Parkview and Riley. In addition, 116 teachers in seven schools participated in Teacher Art Workshops to learn how to incorporate art into their curriculum.

Erica Wangsgard, one of the professional teaching artists who taught the workshops, said they are a draw for families because art appeals to many people.

"Parents truly enjoy creating art themselves. Art is for everyone," she said, noting even parents who didn't speak English could benefit from the workshops. "Visual art speaks to everyone. If parents saw what was going on (they could participate)."

Lisa Chin liked doing the art workshops with her daughters Emmalyn and AnnMarie, both 9-year-old Highland Park Elementary students.

"We enjoy doing art together," she said. "It gets the (girls) out of the box a little bit."

The designer dirt Chin created during the workshop was chosen to be displayed at the exhibit. It had to show several layers with different textures. Emmalyn was proud of her mom's artwork.

"It was fun to do something with mom, and spend quality time with mom," she said.

The family art workshops were sponsored by the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration at Salt Lake City, YouthCity Artways, Beverly Sorenson's art works for kids foundation and Salt Lake City.

The exhibit will be on display through April 30 in the first floor gallery of the City and County Building, 451 S. State. It is free and open to the public.

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com