Sam Barlow’s two seniors, Zoe Taylor and Lilah Burkholder, received awards for their art at the GALA (Gresham Area League for the Arts) art show in the Gresham Council Chamber Lobby, on display this year from January 12 through March 6.
Barlow offers many art classes for students who want to pursue art as a career and for those who just love making art and showing off their talent. These classes include Intro to Art, Drawing 1, 2 & 3, Painting 1, 2 & 3, Sculpture & Ceramics 1 & 2, and Studio Arts. You can find these students’ art all over the art classroom in room 301 and throughout most of the halls. The current art project in the 300 hall is a tape mural that students work on during free class time. Barlow also provides an after-school art program.
Burkholder is currently in Studio Arts, but was previously in Sculpture 1 and 2, Painting 1 and 2, and Drawing 1 and 2. She takes advantage of the resources she has used in the Barlow art program. Burkholder described the benefits of the Barlow art program, saying, ”I am so blessed to have such a wonderful teacher and school, because outside of Barlow, I couldn’t have gotten into pottery/sculpture because I don’t have the resources. And Gibson is the best and is always there when I need help. Gibson pushes me in ways I would have never pushed myself.” Burkholder plans on having art in her career by painting live portraits at weddings until she has kids, then becoming a stay-at-home mom and working on art in her free time. She attended the GALA show, totally unaware she was going to receive an award for her art, and was stunned. “It was crazy!” Burkholder says. “This is my first award, and I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity. It was totally a God thing.”Burkholder received an award for her art, “Their little world”. Zoe Taylor is taking AP Calculus and has taken Intro to Art, Sculpting 1 & 2, Painting 1 & 2, and Studio Art. “The current structure of Barlow is great because every year, sometimes twice a year, Mrs. Gibson chooses pieces she wants to go to our local high school art shows. It makes it really easy to get my art out without me having to stress about applying to a gallery. Other than that, Gibson is just an amazing art teacher. She knows what she’s talking about and has an amazing talent for explaining how to properly paint/draw/sculpt something.” Regarding how Barlow will aid her future in art, Taylor said that although she loves art and will continue using her free time to make art, she wants to be a dentist, which will give her plenty of free time. Taylor received awards at the GALA for her piece, “The Path Home,” and a painting she refers to as “My Lady”. She found out about the awards at the GALA show announcements, just like Burkholder. “I was pretty shocked, especially because I did not know what other work my piece went up against.”
