By Stephen Smoot
The sun illuminated the South Branch Valley beautifully outside last Saturday, but the art featured at the Hardy County Library outshone even that.
At 1 p.m. families and children started filing into the Library. As they excitedly rushed the conference room, members of the Friends of the Library hurriedly set up. They laid out a variety of cookies, other treats, and drinks, helpfully indicating possible common allergies and also which lacked common allergens.
The main event, however, graced all four walls. Boards extending to about 10 feet in height displayed hundreds of art pieces crafted by students between kindergarten and fifth grade.
“It’s great to bring everyone into the Library to see the great stuff we’re doing,” shared Anne Riggleman, President of the Friends of the Library. She added that “we love to celebrate the kids and what they are doing as well as the teachers and also what they are doing.”
Exhibits started with art from some of the youngest. Their board featured a border composed of paper plates, each of which had both brilliant colors on the outside and designs on the “eating” surface. Another set of images came from a creative assignment to visualize the outside world as if through a keyhole.
Pictures from two different age groups provided a glimpse of life under the sea. One set used the medium of crayons to draw animals and plant life on black construction paper, indicating either the ocean at night or at its deepest and darkest depths. Older students had a different take on the theme, providing the point of view of a person looking up from the ocean’s depths in day time.
Each showed the filtering effect of translucent ocean water on the view of the sun with concentric circles of deeper and darker blue. Sea life was portrayed both in color and in silhouette form.
One class produced at least two dozen drawings of ladybugs, most happy and smiling, all brilliantly designed, and a single one captioned by “Love Is Good.” These were right alongside spring scenes with baby chickens, watering cans full of flowers, and more.
Carol Koontz, Hardy County Library director, shared that “I have been here for 30 years and this goes back farther than me, “ showing that the Library considers the youth art shows more of a tradition than a single event. Elizabeth McCallister, long time member and vice president, shared that even after decades, innovation can help improve results.
“We had kids send invitations to their families for the first time,” she explained, then gestured and said “you can see the results here in the attendance.”
The room at that point had a number of children leading their parents around to show off art from themselves and their friends. Some even impressed older siblings when pointing out pictures.
Outside, many more had just arrived and started to file in, helping to celebrate young artists expressing themselves, learning about art techniques, and having fun in the process.
