Grace Schlereth. Courtesy photos.
SANTA MARIA — The power of art and film at Righetti High School has beaten these uncertain times with online assistance.
Righetti’s Annual Student Art Show and Film Festival have joined forces for a virtual art show at https://righettivisualarts.org/.
Student artists created art in various programs throughout the year, including drawings in colored pencil, graphite, and ink; paintings using tempera, watercolor, acrylic, and gouche; 3-dimensional art in paper mache, ceramics, and multi-media; as well as film and video, digital and film photography, and digital illustration. Because of the challenges of these times to students, the exhibited work represents a small sampling of the 500 students in these classes.
There is also a category for work done specifically during the school closure, Art During COVID.
The freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students were guided by teachers Melissa Johnson (Art), Elesa Carlson (Drama and Art), Jacob Gustafson (Film/Video, Online Magazine), and Kizen Sugano (Photography, Guitar, Songwriting). Many include Introductory to AP (Advanced Placement) level students and students in concurrent classes with AHC.
“Righetti High School has, for decades, showcased the talent of the students in the Fine Arts Classes by holding an art exhibition,’’ said Warrior Art Teacher Melissa Johnson.
“The RHS ART SHOW, has regularly boasted more than a thousand pieces of artwork, from beginning drawing, paintings, and sculptures, to advanced multimedia and photography. This year, in order to adjust to the current circumstances, the Visual Arts Department is curating an online/stay-at-home-option. Often in times of difficulty and challenge, we are pushed out of our comfort-zone. But, this can be an opportunity for growth and discovery.”
Johnson’s freshman art student Ginger Grizzanti agreed, adding, “The world is full of art, it is our job to harness it for self-expression.’’