The Reece Museum will host an art exhibit this week that features some of the youngest artists in Johnson City.
Children in ETSU’s Little Bucs program from ages 3 months to five years will have their art on display as a part of their annual fundraiser. The exhibit this year is titled “Through the Eyes of the Children,” and it is open April 18-20 with the reception taking place on April 20 at 4:30 p.m.
Pieces range from paintings, sculpture, ceramics, photography and more.
“I really like the colors I painted on this,” said four-year-old Layla Boggs, referring to her painted wooden sculpture with gems.
4 year old Layla Boggs made two sculpture pieces for the Little Bucs exhibit. (Photograph by: Jordan Hensley)
Boggs also put together another wooden sculpture piece that she described as a home for her favorite “My Little Pony” character Spike. One of her best friends, Emma Grace Manis made a wooden sculpture for her favorite “My Little Pony” character as well.
“We do a lot of art projects here,” said Little Bucs program coordinator Beth Huber. “They’re very process oriented. We use many different materials, and they’re open ended. Some school programs have crafts where everyone makes the same thing, but the material we provide the children allows them to choose what do with the material and really explore different things.”
This year’s exhibit features 75 to 100 pieces from about 50 children. Each child has at least one piece featured in the exhibit and each class put together at least one group piece.
Four-year-old Avery Birdwell is providing the exhibit with a sculpture and a few photography pieces.
“I took pictures of the pink trees,” Birdwell said, in reference to the pink Dogwood trees on campus. She also took pictures of shadows.
One of the children featured in the exhibit gets her art inspiration from her mother.
“I do art with Mommy, and I want to do art with Mommy when I grow up,” said four-year-old Eleanor Farris.
Lauren Taylor and her daughter Eleanor Farris pose with their respective pieces that are on display at the Reece Museum. (Photograph by: Jordan Hensley)
Farris’s mother Lauren Taylor is a second year master’s of fine art student at ETSU. Taylor currently has two ceramic pieces on display at the Reece Museum in the Synonyms of Experience exhibit.
Taylor is overjoyed to have her daughter’s art displayed at the same museum and hopes that this will continue as Eleanor gets older.
This is the fourth annual fundraising exhibit hosted by the program. Each piece is a part of a silent auction. Bidding starts at 9 a.m. on April 18 and closes at 6 p.m. on April 20. There is also an entry fee of $5, and children under the age of 12 get in free.
“All of the children are so excited,” Huber said. “The reception will be a special evening for the kids and their families.”
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