‘We Felt Like VIPs’
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bout 10 minutes into the second evening Portfolio Show of the year, Director of Visual & Performing Arts Katy Hills turned to a colleague with a question:
“Do you think we should do this every year?” If it were up to the students who attended the Friday night showing of “Off the Grid,” the answer for the future would be an enthusiastic, “Yes!” “At night, it felt like a professional art gallery,” says Senior Rebecca Kerr. “Having parents come to their own show gave us more personal time to talk with them.” The Friday night show was born of necessity and inclusion. At the beginning of the spring Portfolio Show season, it was clear that COVID-19 safety policies might allow the usual live lunch-hour shows but would reduce the number of people who could attend during a school day. To make sure parents would still have a chance to see their students’ art, the teachers— Stashia
From Left: Aaron Rice, Andy Guevara, Rebecca Kerr, Peter Carpenter, Charlie Westfall
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Colorado Academy Journal
Taylor, Karen Donald, and Alecia Maher— added an evening show just for parents of the students in each Portfolio group. “I am incredibly thankful for the CA teachers, staff, and administration for their creative problem-solving and generosity,” says Trish Cooper, mother of Senior Andy Guevara. “Our small gathering of student artists, dedicated teachers, and proud parents in the stunning evening glow of the Ponzio Center was a perfectly intimate and memorable affair, pandemic notwithstanding.” “We are always amazed at the incredible talent of CA students,” adds Sara Carpenter, mother of Peter Carpenter. “We have been to several Portfolio Shows over the years and very much enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the students who put so much effort into their artwork. This year’s evening event was unique, because the darkness outside really highlighted the lighting on the art. We felt like VIPs having a private showing.”
Five artists, five styles The guests at the Portfolio Show were treated to a variety of pieces created by five Seniors, described by the artists in their own statements. n
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P eter Carpenter “sought to showcase the beauty of nature through non-traditional realist landscapes.” C harlie Westfall used photography to “represent the idea of nature being powerful as well as beautiful.” A aron Rice experimented with multiple ways to produce light in photography in order “to contrast the natural and the artificial.” R ebecca Kerr tried long exposure photography to focus on “the idea of light and the painting effect I can create with it.” A ndy Guevara created characters—some life size—that represented “the friends that helped me realize my own voice throughout quarantine.”
