Talent on display at the courthouse Mt. Pleasant students’ work displayed for Youth Art Month

It was in the stairway leading to the third floor of the Henry County Courthouse Sunday afternoon, March 3, that Alician Todd found the two pastel prints that she wanted to show her parents Chris and Joey.

Since she has been a student in the Mt. Pleasant Community School District, Todd has had pieces of her artwork displayed at the Courthouse as part of the annual Mt. Pleasant Youth Art Show and this year was no exception. The ninth-grader showed her parents her work on display. It was one of several hundred pieces of artwork that will line the walls of the courthouse through March 27.

'It's a hobby I have had since I was younger,” she said of her paintings. 'For the pastels I got photos of some landscapes and decided to base them off that.”

She also had a self portrait hanging in the hallways. As the family moved through the courthouse, Todd got the chance to see the artwork created by her peers. Art work was displayed by every grade in the district.

All morning, the four art teachers in the district had been hanging the artworks throughout the courthouse to be opened to the public in the afternoon. Salem and Van Allen elementary art teacher Wanda Broeker, said this is the 48th year the district has featured the works of their students. 'We're celebrating Youth Art Month, which is the month of March and we have a variety of pieces from every school,” she said.

Every medium taught in the district was on display, including paintings, ceramics, sculptures and water colors. High schoolers also displayed prints and computer designs they had made.

'We always say it is fun because you can see what they do in elementary and how it progresses through high school,” said Harland and Lincoln teacher Dawn Wiley, 'Many of the people being displayed from the high school I had as students, so I am excited to see the work they are doing.”

Artworks for display are different in each class. Many of the classes allow the students to select which pieces would be displayed.

This year, gathering the artwork was a challenge because of the inclement weather canceling school many days leading up to the unveiling.

'Getting things done this winter was tricky, but a lot of times when they are younger you try to get them in,” Rebecca Bos, visual arts instructor at Mt. Pleasant High School, said.

Normally a small write-up on the artworks hangs with them, but this year the teachers had not had the chance to create them yet. They will be displayed later this week.