From floor to ceiling hearts of all colors and sizes made by local school children were strung and displayed in the center court of
the University Mall from Feb. 2 to Feb. 14 for the Share your Heart valentine exhibit and fundraiser. Shoppers voted for their favorite heart by donating $1 to benefit the Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care. Kelsey Lewis of Richmond has been the art teacher at Rick Marcotte Central School for four years. Working with three grades &mdash kindergarten, first and third &mdash she decided to submit artwork for the event. “Instead of having each student submit an individual heart, I thought it would make more of a statement if we did collaborative pieces,” Lewis said. “We did hearts on black paper for the kindergarten, and first grades and for the third graders we came up with the idea of a sculpture.” The papier mache sculpture is of the earth and says “love makes the world go around” in paiper mache letters with a string of hearts circling the earth. “I thought this was a good opportunity to get some of the kids’ artwork out there,” she said. “I try to do it as often as I can. Students are always excited to have their artwork displayed, Lewis said. “The more I can do the better because there are almost 400 kids in this school. My hope is that at some point during the time they are here they will have had something shown somewhere.” Lewis keeps a list of who has had their artwork shown outside of the school. “It’s a lot of organization, but public displays like this are so validating for the students to see that art can make a statement,” she said. “Art can send a message, and art can do good for a community, especially a show like this that benefits a charity.” (LYNN MONTY, Free Press) Students at The Rick Marcotte Central School in South Burlington had their art displayed at The University Mall for the “Share your Heart” Valentine exhibit and fundraiser to benefit the Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
If you go • WHAT: Champlain Valley Regional Art Show • WHERE: University Mall, 155 Dorset St., South Burlington • WHEN: March 8-20 • CONTACT:863-1066