Brownwood Middle School art students explored a variety of art styles this year, from realism to abstraction to non-representational styles. Throughout the year most of their projects were based on traveling; artists and styles from different places in the world were the inspiration for many of the students’ works.

Some of the countries “visited” were: Japan (landscape printing), Russia (architectural styles), Egypt (sarcophagus design), Mexico (punched paper), Italy (portrait drawing), Panama (molas – stacked cloth cutouts), India (mehndi, or henna paste hand decorations), Africa (Senufo mud drawings), and Ireland (illuminated manuscripts).

BMS art students worked with many different materials as well: drawing with charcoal, colored pencils, pastels, and ink; painting with tempera and watercolors; also printmaking, scratchboard etchings, and paper cutouts.

“My art students have done well in their artwork this year, and this exhibit is vivid proof of the abilities they bring each day,” said BMS art teacher, Julie Mize. “They enjoyed the traveling theme. Once the travel units were an expected part of my students’ art classroom experience, I often heard the question, ‘Where are we going next?’”