Spring Art Show by Hunter Schmidt (Grade 5)
The Spring Art Show is an active way for students to express creativity throughout the school. Few are selected to be honored in the Permanent Art Collection. These pieces are elected by a legion of art teachers. Students who are chosen are recognized in the Art Show assembly the following year. Overall, we have over a thousand pieces in the Permanent Art Collection.
Clarke Godfrey, a fifth-grader with two Permanent Art pieces, talks about his experiences: “I like the Permanent Art Collection because it’s a way for people to show their craftsmanship and share it with the school. You feel great after you have won and everyone claps for you. It also gives you a sense of pride."
My favorite part of the art show is seeing art from every student at Graland. From kindergartners to eighth-graders, it links us as a community.
See the Virtual Art Show galleries here!
Editor's Note: Teacher Cathy Naughton started the tradition of collecting student art in 1977 with a single watercolor painted by Heidi Lasher-Oakes '80. Cathy took her piece to the school’s woodshop teacher who cut wood to frame it, adding a piece of glass from a broken window in the old Georgia Nelson Building. Since then, the collection has grown to more than 1,000 paintings, sketches, sculptures and the like that are now professionally framed for the showcase. “We use many of the pieces in the classroom as examples of good artwork,” Ms. Naughton explains. “For many students, it’s a true aspiration to have a piece inducted. They really consider it an honor.”
With Gratitude: In 2020, Master Teacher and art instructor Andrean Andrus announced her retirement as she sets her sights on life beyond Graland. For the past 37 years, Mrs. Andrus has nurtured generations of students to reach their full artistic potential at Graland. We are grateful for her dedication and loyalty and wish her all the best in her upcoming adventures!
See the Virtual Art Show galleries here!
Editor's Note: Teacher Cathy Naughton started the tradition of collecting student art in 1977 with a single watercolor painted by Heidi Lasher-Oakes '80. Cathy took her piece to the school’s woodshop teacher who cut wood to frame it, adding a piece of glass from a broken window in the old Georgia Nelson Building. Since then, the collection has grown to more than 1,000 paintings, sketches, sculptures and the like that are now professionally framed for the showcase. “We use many of the pieces in the classroom as examples of good artwork,” Ms. Naughton explains. “For many students, it’s a true aspiration to have a piece inducted. They really consider it an honor.”
With Gratitude: In 2020, Master Teacher and art instructor Andrean Andrus announced her retirement as she sets her sights on life beyond Graland. For the past 37 years, Mrs. Andrus has nurtured generations of students to reach their full artistic potential at Graland. We are grateful for her dedication and loyalty and wish her all the best in her upcoming adventures!
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
