In the 49 years I have lived here, I have never experienced such a show of Big Sandy's talented artists. A Week of Art filled the fireman's hall completely! It was amazing to see the talent I have heard so much about. Monica Winderl, the art teacher at the high school, has told me for three years how amazed she is with the artistic talent we have in our schools. She has a master's degree, so I believed Monica when she told me how good the students were, but seeing how good they blew me away. I would have loved to buy several art pictures.
It was a lot of hard work to put together the Week of Art, and I heard so much praise spoken. I know her classroom must be full of students who surprised themselves with their abilities. They used a wide variety of mediums; pencil, acrylic, wood burning, oil, watercolor, photographs, inks. The art ranged from modern to classics, to western, to drawings of individual flowers. It was apparent that the students were allowed to express themselves through their efforts.
But it wasn't just that art. The music has been front and center as well. The Big Sandy Pioneer Band and choir and individual performances received high marks. The ratings go from 1 to 5, with one being the best.
Sandy Sweethearts and the Sandy Select received a number 1 rating along with Tavie Wortman on her saxophone solo and Angie Sant on her piano solo. These students will be going on to the state competition. The rest of the students and the Pioneer band all received a rating of 2, which is excellent! There were no three or below ratings-a fantastic show of musical talent led by TJ Bond, Big Sandy's music teacher.
At the Week of Art, some musicians played at the fireman's hall. There were tables with decorations on each and dessert from The Bakery, supplied by Mary Merrill.
Art Week was an enormous effort put together by Monica Winderl. She was hoping to make this an annual event. Here's hoping it will be.
