Area youths display work in ASC art show

PLAINS – Young artists gathered at the Clark Fork Valley Hospital, Thursday, to show off their work during the Gayle Keeney Art on the Walls student show, the first art show of 2016.

The show featured art from all age groups in grades K-12 from around the county. There were pieces from Hot Springs and even some from Trout Creek. The show was not bound to only public school students; Joy Nelson, of the Sanders County Arts Council, noted there was at least one home school student and one who was being mentored by Rick Harter, a local artist. 

A few grades did not participate, but the walls were still covered in students’ pieces. Most of the entries were from Plains with a few from Hot Springs. Nelson noted there were usually very few from Thompson Falls, Trout Creek and Noxon, but they did sometimes get submitions; she said usually depended on the year. 

In October, a notice was sent to the teachers of the schools detailing the requirements of the show. Nelson said this was so the classes had enough time to prepare a project if they wanted to submit a class project.

“It kinda lays out how they should be laid out to hang,” she said.

The main goal of the show was to show off the artwork, though some pieces were being sold. Along one wall were several pieces available for sale; the show’s program had a list of the pieces for sale as well as the prices.

Along with the art, community members were able to enjoy small sandwiches and other snacks. According to Nelson, these were prepared for the event by students in consumer sciences classes at the Plains school. She also noted there was a similar class in Hot Springs and they were arranging to have the classes take turns for who makes the snacks.

The student art show has been happening since approximately 2008 and it is always the first show of the year. Every three months, the show is changed out and new art is placed in the hospital; this allows the artists time to put together new pieces as well as giving the most participants a chance to have art shown.

“Some of them might be good enough artists that they need the exposure and experience,” Nelson said. 

Art shows for adults usually have a contest element with a jury to decide the best pieces displayed. This show was just for the kids to show off their work, though, and no judging was happening.

The show began while founder Gayle Keeny was in the hospital with pneumonia. The show’s backstory information states she went for a walk and noted there were no pictures on the walls, yet the lighting was perfect for art displays. It got her wondering why nobody had thought to hold an art show in the space.

Once she recovered, Keeny set about bringing reality to her idea. The art council quickly made arrangements with the hospital to decorate the walls with local artists’ pieces, showcasing their talents and making the hospital a more beautiful place to stay during recovery.