by Noella Noelophile®
(Graphic courtesy of Bill Boisselle-Schalaba/San Pedro Art Association, and used with permission.)
San Pedro Art Association is welcoming Spring by celebrating student creativity!
And they’ve just brought back another very pleasant memory.
A springtime class
(Royalty-free image by lisntowind from Pixabay.)
The setting: a classroom in the early 1960s. The first-grade teacher has passed around construction-paper mosaic pictures, one for each student.
It’s a hyacinth, in a pot. And now, the students’ “job” is to decorate their hyacinths.
Diligently, the teacher shows the students how to cut a small rectangle of purple or yellow crepe paper, twist it in the middle so it looks like a bow, and glue it onto the hyacinth with white glue.
I still remember the red flowerpot, green construction-paper stalk leaves and popsicle-shaped bloom to which we glued our handiwork. And how much fun we had–not to mention how proud everyone was to bring their springtime “masterpieces” home.
And somehow, in the ensuing years, looking at craft supplies–or even found materials–would spark ideas. “Oh, I could make…”
That is the gift which Miss J.’s art class gave me.
It’s also the gift which San Pedro Art Association gives students, annually.
Creativity, 2025 edition
(Royalty-free image by Alicja from Pixabay.)
Every year, SPAA hosts the free “Harbor Wide All Grade Student Art Competition”, for students in the greater Harbor area. There are three competition categories: Elementary, Middle and High School.
Their fourteenth annual competition is happening now.
Entrants may work in charcoal, pastel (chalk or oil), all drawing materials, all painting materials, or submit either darkroom or digital photography. According to SPAA’s guidelines, art should be done on paper, canvas, canvas board, or other surfaces appropriate for the chosen medium.
Entering is easy; students may take a photo of their artwork and text or email it to SPAA, along with the signed permission form. They may also leave their entries, with completed forms, at their school office for San Pedro Art Association to pick up. (Here’s the link with more information and contest rules. Be sure to fill out all the requested information!)
All artwork must be flat form, and one of the sizes listed in SPAA’s “Rules and Entry Form” guidelines.
And please, secure “loose” materials, such as chalk or pastels, by spraying them with a proper fixative. No artist likes to get their work just right–and then have it “shed” multicolored dust!
Submission deadline is May 1. Student artists have a little time to bring their creative vision to life, but now is the time to get them spinning their ideas!
Awards and honors
(SPAA Student Art Show, 2015.)
A panel of art professionals will judge the entries, and hand-select the winners. Award-winning artwork will be professionally framed and displayed at CRAFTED, in San Pedro. Meanwhile, all accepted artwork will be displayed online, and each student receives a 150- piece art set, an award ribbon, a Certificate of Recognition from the State Assembly and student membership with SPAA through high school.
In addition, San Pedro Art Association emails that, in 2024, they also gave out over a $1300 in cash prizes to their talented young participants.
So, Happy Spring! And may all of SPAA’s student artists have as much creative fun, exploring shape, color and ideas, as we did, in that long-ago classroom.