Elementary school students prepare for biannual art walk

For the past three years, the Evergreen Elementary School art walk has created a platform for students to share their artwork with the community. This season's walk, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 5:30 p.m., will feature elaborate interactive displays and a series of holiday-centric projects.

"We've been cranking stuff out," said art teacher Tawney Crowley.

Each of the projects she assigns has an educational component. For Veterans Day, the students discussed the origins of the holiday and the sacrifices that veterans make. "We talked about veterans that we know and getting to empathize with their struggles," said Crowley.

For Cinco de Mayo, or the "day of the dead," fifth graders made sugar skull masks and took time to remember people who had passed away.

The project was a chance for them to "(have) those kind of tough discussions and (be) able to talk about, 'what does that mean for us,'" Crowley added.

For Native American Heritage Month, the students learned about regalia and practiced whip stitches and running stitches. "There were a lot of kids in the class who started talking about their own regalia that they have," she said. "Those conversations naturally come up."

For Crowley, her students and their families and friends, the art walk is about "so much more than arts and crafts." Sharing their artwork gives students a chance to speak to the community.

"That's the part about the art walk that I absolutely adore," she said. "The more people that show up for it, that sends a message to these kids."

Crowley tries to improve the event each year by incorporating feedback from attendees. After the results from a survey she passed out at the last walk suggested that kids and parents enjoyed interactive displays, she incorporated more of these displays into this month's walk.

"Last winter, I did a glow-in-the-dark section," she said. "It was a little turnaround when you go into the entrance in the gym. We just had black light bulbs on lamps. It was such a hit last year that we went ahead and got black light bars for this year."

"We want to make one of those an interactive spot to let kids ... get a chance to kind of play with that concept on their own," she added.

She hopes that the biannual art showings can provide something to look forward to, that can "bring a little bit of cheer" during the dark winter months.

After the December event, the next art walk will be in spring. Crowley plans to work on a display for Women's History Month that will be ready at the first 2024 walk.