Art created by students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools is on display at the Winter Wonderland Art Exhibit in the Annapolis Mall.

There are more than 275 pieces of art hanging on the walls on the ground floor, running from the Container Store to the Tropical Fish Tank. Art teachers from the county’s 79 elementary schools selected two pieces from their classes to display.

“Art is such a great form of expression, and it’s such a safe place for our kids, but it also can be where they can come and showcase their talent,” said Katelyn Smith, an art teacher at Manor View Elementary School in Fort Meade.

Sophie Bratton is a first grader at Folger Mckinsey Elementary School in Severna Park and her mixed media creation is titled “Birth Trees.” Sophie painted the night sky as seen through a grove of birch trees. She said she was inspired by winter’s early sunsets, painting the sky blue and purple to channel the colors she sees as it begins to get dark.

She says her favorite class is art because she enjoys the process of creating.

“I like seeing what it will turn out as when I finish,” said Sophie.

Art teachers were given the freedom to interpret the winter wonderland theme in the assignment they gave the students, making each schools’ contribution unique. A variety of mediums are on display, including tempera and watercolor paint, paper collage, and mixed media. Some students even shared a canvas with a classmate.

Layla Beal, a third-grade student at Four Seasons Elementary School in Odenton, created a paper weaving collage titled “Snowy Birdhouse.” Her checkerboard patterned birdhouse is seen during the day while snow is falling and shares a canvas with a classmate’s creation, a birdhouse at night complete with chimney.

The artwork will be on display in the mall until New Years.

“The Annapolis Mall staff and customers have remarked that they look forward to the return of the exhibit every year and that the work by our student artists is exemplary,” said AACPS Coordinator of Visual Arts Eleni Dykstra.

Winter Wonderland is one of four annual art exhibits by county students in the area. All grade level artists will be on display in May at the mall, high school seniors in April at Maryland Hall and more elementary student art at regional Visual Arts Office branches in March.

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