Staff Report
The grounds at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School will once again be filled with masters of the art world as students use chalk to reproduce works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Frida Kahlo and more in preparation for the school’s annual open house.
Students are also reproducing work by evocative and contemporary artists such as Peter Doig and Damian Hirst, according to art teacher Callie Martin.
“The mix of old and new is always exciting and connects our student to the past and present art worlds,” Martin said.
These replicas of both famous and lesser-known art pieces will be created for the 24th annual “Masters of Chalk” festival on Thursday, March 27. The public is invited to look at the students’ renditions during the school’s annual open house the next evening, March 28, from 6 – 8 p.m.
The festival was created in 1994 by then-art teacher Connie Rhode and has been continued by Martin, one of her former students.
“We have more than doubled our participating student-artists to 155. That means 155 reproductions of famous paintings and contemporary artworks. Through the research presentations, students learn about a wide variety of artistic styles, movements and artists who push the traditional aspects of art-making,” Martin said.
Each student work fills a 4-foot by 6-foot rectangle. Once again, local businesses sponsored the artists so that their creations can perform as a fundraiser for art trips, student scholarships and Art Club operations.
For more information, call Martin at 688-6487, ext. 3372.
