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Chester County Press

Art by area students at Oxford Arts Alliance

06/06/2016 10:04AM ● By J. Chambless

Birch trees by third grader Lauren Meiler.

By John Chambless
Staff Writer

The annual Student Art Show at the Oxford Arts Alliance is always a great chance for families to proudly recognize the artistic efforts of their children, but there are always a few works that are genuinely outstanding, whether you happen to know the young artists or not.

There are more than 200 artworks in the gallery and placed around Oxford through June 17. The gallery show is divided by school, and you can recognize how each art teacher has selected examples of class work that was done around themes.

The enthusiasm of works by the youngest students is always captivating, as shown in some circus-themed works by kindergartners from the Jordan Bank School. Hopewell Elementary School fifth and sixth graders have some striking drawings of buildings with airbrushed backgrounds. Nottingham Elementary School has Dakota Summers' birdhouse collage that is perfectly charming, as well as some birch trees created with cut paper that are quite distinctive.

Oxford Area High School has the most technically accomplished works, with 11th grader Morgan Curl's pencil portrait of Twiggy as a dazzling standout. Sam Muscella's painting of Hogwart's from the “Harry Potter” books makes an impression with its sheer size. “Frog,” a painting by senior Teresa Ayala, is a tour de force of carefully applied dots.

Penn's Grove Middle School eighth grader Cecilia Muscella has an impressive pencil drawing, “Converse Shoe,” and Sacred Heart School third grader Bianca Giaccone's “Picasso Portrait” is nicely painted and expressively rearranged.

Among the works by home-schooled students, Victoria D'Ascenzo, 15, is a standout with her pen and ink drawing, “Victorian Home.” There's a case of pottery creations, so don't miss the adorable clay birds by students from the Sacred Heart School.

Each year, the show awards two Oxford High School seniors with scholarships through the Richard Beards Scholarship Award. This year's winners are Medina Keita, who will be attending Cornell University; and Brianna Moore, who will be attending Moore College of Art and Design.

The Student Art Show continues through June 17 at the Oxford Arts Alliance (38 S. Third St., Oxford). Visit www.oxfordart.org.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].