Region 15 Art Show April 28, 29

#MIDDLEBURY #REGION15

Memorial Middle School eighth-grader Morgan Pietrorazio designed the mandala used in this Region 15 Art Show poster. The art show will be the last weekend in April. (Submitted photo)

By MARISSA MATOZZO

This year’s Region 15 Art Show will be Friday, April 28, from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pomperaug High School (PHS). The event, now in its 29th year, is free of charge and open to the public. Parents and members of the community are encouraged to support local student art by attending the exhibit.

“This is the biggest event of the year for Region 15 art students,” said Florin Ion Firimita, Pomperaug High School’s art teacher of 20 years. “It will be very rewarding for them, as they put months and months into their work,” he said. Firimita teaches Drawing and Painting I and II classes at Pomperaug High School as well as Advanced Placement Studio Art, and works from each of the classes he teaches will be on display at the show.

Works of art in various mediums will be presented from every school in the region, Middlebury, Long Meadow, Pomperaug, and Gainfield Elementary Schools; Memorial and Rochambeau Middle Schools, and Pomperaug High School. Artwork from all grade levels, kindergarten through 12th grade, will be displayed in the new PHS gymnasium. On exhibit will be paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, ceramics and pottery.

“The students in Advanced Placement Studio Art will have their own personal displays with the artwork they completed within the year,” Firimita said. Each student from the class will set up an exhibit-like presentation of their own in the school’s all-purpose room across the hallway from the gymnasium.

Cassondra Giacomazzo, a PHS senior and AP art student, said, “You can bring in almost anything and make it your own. Last year I saw all of the AP art students’ displays and wished I could create something different and unique of my own, and here I am!” She said, “It is exciting to see the work of so many artists and to set up my art as well.”

Another AP art student, PHS senior Jessica Haworth, said, “AP has tested my talents and has made me grow as an artist and as a person. I’m excited about having a station to display my new artwork.”

Stephanie Milite, also a PHS AP art student and senior, said, “There is so much to see, and I have been inspired by the work I have seen at the art shows of Region 15 in the past. I am looking forward to arranging an area with my pieces on display,”

Laura Skinger, a PHS senior and AP artist, said, “This year we have a much larger class than usual showing a great variety of work, personal styles, and skills. I am grateful for the personal growth I have gained from collaborating with fellow artists, sharing ideas, and supporting one another in our creative journeys.”

Many art styles will be represented in the works by Region 15 art students. Included will be non-representational art, expressionism, portraits, landscapes, conceptual art, impressionism, and much more. “There is so much wonderful art offered in one spot,” said Firimita. “You just have to come and see.”