Student artists join professionals at Village Art in the Park

LEAVENWORTH – Cascade School District students will be selling their art alongside the professionals at Village Art in the Park on May 31 and June 1.

“It's a really exciting project, [and] a great way for the kids to not only show off their art…But also to see that there might be a possibility even for a career in art, which would be our ultimate goal,” said Village Art in the Park Board President Laura Hansen.

The Student Art Market is put together in partnership with Village Art in the Park and CSD art teachers to provide students with the real world experience of making, marketing, and selling their work.

“I think it helps them gain a better appreciation for art and for handmade items, and what it takes to make something and to sell it,” said Icicle River Middle School art teacher Lore Smart.

As a nonprofit organization, Village Art in the Park uses proceeds from its outdoor art market to support local students in various ways, such as awarding scholarships, providing funding for teachers and supplies, and inviting them to participate in the art market. In addition to providing the tent space, the organization also funds the supplies and materials needed for the students to create the work. In doing so, the students are able to keep all of the proceeds when their artwork sells.

“Art instruction, exposure to art in the schools… is vital to rounding out a person. You want them to be good students of the curriculum, but you want them to be well rounded and to appreciate the beauty and the wonder that is art,” said Hansen.

The project started with Cascade High School students and art teacher Teara Dillon a few years ago, but has since grown to include Icicle River Middle School students. While the high schoolers have a bit more freedom to choose their medium and design, the middle schoolers get creative within the parameters of the chosen medium for the market, which is clay. Yet, both levels are learning how to create and price pieces that show their personality while still appealing to a potential buyer, and the vulnerability that comes with it.

“They’re already in a vulnerable place within their own bodies and just developmentally, then to also add another layer of, ‘Okay, I'm going to put myself out there with this work that I've created. Will anyone buy it?’...[Finding] more practice in that space is healthy. And I always tell them, ‘The best way to get rid of your fear is to face it,’” said Smart.

Located among professional artist booths in the heart of downtown, students who attend the market not only get the opportunity to interact with local artists, but also get to practice their entrepreneurial skills with visitors from all over the world.

“[I tell them,] ‘Come down, check it out, and look at all these other artists and the skills and the incredible talent that is right here in our own community…People from all over the world come to tour and visit Leavenworth, and they get to see your art as students,’” said Smart.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media