Community Celebrates Nature-Themed Art Walk

On a beautiful spring afternoon, families and students from Lower, Middle, and Upper School filled the campus to enjoy the second-annual Art Walk.

“Our goal is to have one day, one moment, when the entire community can celebrate our visual artists,” said Kristin Snellings, Upper School Visual Arts teacher. 

Lower and Middle School Visual Arts teacher Abby Klein added: “It’s also a space to gather and connect.”

Student art from throughout the school year was displayed in the Paul R. Cramer Center for the Arts and all the divisional buildings. In addition to art for viewing, the Art Walk incorporated interactive elements. “Our theme was ‘taking a hike’ to honor the year’s schoolwide theme of nature,” shared Emily Wolfe, Lower School Visual Arts teacher.

A nature-themed scavenger hunt, featuring a quote from artist Vincent Van Gogh, led participants through the exhibits. Upper School students created a stamping station with nature drawings, such as bluebirds and monarch butterflies, using the Bryan Innovation Lab’s Glowforge. Director of Dining Services Anne Maury Haapala created a popular trail mix sampling station. 

“We also partnered with the Bryan Lab team and the National Art Honor Society students to create an interactive nature loom,” Mrs. Snellings shared. “Community weaving is a way to display our connectedness.”

The loom was made with bamboo from the yard of Brad Kovach, Bryan Innovation Lab Dean of Engineering and Technology, and is still on exhibit in the Cramer Center.

Not all the art was nature-themed, but much of it was. Examples include landscapes on canvas, cardboard relief sculptures of landscapes made with recycled materials, birch tree paintings, bird sculptures, and a vibrant display of sunflowers in the style of Van Gogh. 

The Art Walk celebrates Steward’s core value of individuality. “I loved seeing people appreciate our students’ individual voices and opportunities for self-expression,” Mrs. Snellings shared. Mrs. Klein concurred: “It’s important that Steward places an emphasis on the arts, as it allows us to celebrate the unique creativity of each of our students.”

View the Steward Snaps from the Art Walk.