Exposures exhibits student writing, art

Life

IF YOU GO

• Exposures Opening Reception

• 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 29

• Leelanau Community Cultural Center at the Old Art Building in Leland, 111 Main St.

• Exhibit continues: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 30

Featured Poems

ImprisonmentAlex Friar, Grade 8, The Pathfinder School

Body enveloped in thick rough fabric

Crinoline chafing and itching

Full round skirts restricting

Small waist choking, stifling

Weight unbearable

A warp of cotton

A weft of horsehair

And my imprisonment complete

My restraint set

Stuck in my role and buried in my place

Everything holding me back

Both my sex and habit

Oh how I long to be free and have rights

But until then I must only dream restrained in my skirts

Dream and wait for the freedom that I shall not taste

But the freedom that will ring true in our daughters'

and our daughters' daughters' ears

Tell Me Who I Should BeBrennan Deckrow, Grade 9, Leland Public School

What are the chances that when I look in a mirror

I will like what I see

After TVs and billboards

Tell me who I should be

They show rappers and athletes and brands of cologne

And a man in a suit

With a dozen women, all his own

What are the chances that once I am told

In that mirror, who I should see

That as I am shown what I should be

That I can be satisfied

With just being me

Related Photos

Launched in 1988, Exposures provides an artistic venue for student artists in grades 7-12 thanks to an annual show and publication. Here, Craig Send, a senior at Suttons Bay High School, mats a work for the show, which features an opening reception April 29 at the Old Art Building in Leland. Special to the Record-Eagle/Carol South

April 18, 2011

'You feel accomplished'

By Carol South Special to the Record-Eagle The Record Eagle Wed Apr 18, 2012, 01:50 PM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Exposures has celebrated the creative talent of Leelanau students since 1988.

This year’s artists and creative writers will be featured Friday, April 29, during the Exposures Opening Reception at the Old Art Building in Leland. The exhibit also will be available Saturday, April 30.

Encouraging young artists, specifically county students in grades 7-12, is the purpose of the annual endeavor. In addition to the reception, Exposures will feature an art show the next day and a publication featuring all the selected works.

“If anyone is interested in knowing what is in the hearts and minds of Leelanau County’s young people, it’s all here in Exposures: the joy of lazy summer days spent cruising our spectacular county, the camaraderie of championship teams, the angst of unrequited love, the sorrows of loss, and the hopes and dreams for the future,” said Deb Freed, who has provided the layout for all issues of Exposures since the publication’s inception.

Some of the participating students worked Friday with volunteers from the Leelanau Painters. Using donated supplies, everyone matted the show’s photographs, drawings and paintings.

“It’s such a variety here, it’s fabulous,” said volunteer Kay Doyle, of Northport. “I just think the arts are such an amazing place for kids to be, to explore and to have adventures and learn about the world.”

Suttons Bay High School’s Craig Send, a senior, finds it fulfilling to have work included in Exposures.

“Anytime you have your work hanging and you get to see it publicly, you feel accomplished,” said Send, one of five Suttons Bay Advanced Placement art class students helping Friday afternoon.

Exposures began 23 years ago when Laura Quackenbush received a publication showcasing the creativity of Lansing students. The idea took root when she shared the idea with David Viskochil and Lita Coleman, who inspired the participation of area language arts teachers.

Working together and with Chamber Arts North, founded by Viskochil in 1982 to nurture the arts, Exposures published the first issue, culled from 500 submissions of visual and written works.

Now in its third decade, Exposures continues offering an outlet for students in public, private and parochial schools in the county. Homeschoolers also may participate.

A thousand entries now are routinely received and sifted through annually by judges, who cull to approximately 125 pieces.

“It’s a completely volunteer project. We have art editors and writing editors that donate their time to work on this,” said Freed, who also writes grants to coordinate the patchwork of funding. “It’s a real-world experience. We make the submitting process as real-world as possible.”

Each student may submit up to four works, any combination of art or writing. Notification of selection comes by postcard, which does not reveal which piece was selected. Freed noted that there is always a rush at the Opening Reception by students to see what was selected.

Jeanne Gross, an English teacher with the Leland Public Schools, said Exposures is optional for students, not part of a school assignment.

“We invite any student who wants to submit, to submit,” she said. “Some turn in work they turned in for class, but others turn in work that they wrote independently.”

The longevity of Exposures provides a potential artistic venue for students over half of their school career. Many students submit pieces year after year.

“What I’ve noticed is that students who have been selected and admitted are really motivated to do it next year,” Gross said.