Just past the security desk at Door M there is a classroom whose white walls have been bare for the past couple of years, waiting for the quarterly student art show to commence once more and fill the space with color and creativity. 

Yet over the past two years, it was used as COVID-19 care room. Oct. 26 marked the end of the artless drought, as Lane hosted their first in-person art show since 2020.

“This space was dedicated a long time ago for this purpose,” art teacher Elizabeth Chisholm said. “It’s really nice that it can come back to that instead of being a COVID care room.” 

Art was organized along every wall including textiles, collages, paintings, drawings and photography, while smaller scale sculptures lined a table on the far side of the room. Many students turned out right after school, enough to fill the room, and appreciation abounded as people took in the creations of their classmates. 

“I think it’s really great for people to be able to show their work in a large format, and it makes being an artist something that feels more significant and awesome,” said Malachi Trout, a Film Studies student.

Seeing the art in person was also a more fulfilling experience than the online art shows they were holding in place of in-person during quarantine and when there were more restrictions.

“It’s so nice because so many of these pieces need to be seen in real life, because there’s texture and there’s implied texture and you can’t get that digitally,” art teacher Greg Steffens said. 

The art was organized by type of art class, and the variety and skill spoke to the talent of the students. 

“Being able to see it all together, and what our students offer and what they can do, it’s remarkable,” Steffens said.

Chisholm echoes this. 

“Our students are amazing,” she said.

Chisholm says that there was great effort put into making this show possible, but it was not arduous because of the general desire to make it all possible.

“It’s a labor of love. [The art teachers] put it together during our preparation periods,” Chisholm said. “We carve out time to make sure it looks good, and we come down and check on it, and we organize the space and help each other out. It’s definitely worth it.”

The students also worked diligently to prepare for the show. 

“The print I did took me two weeks, and that still life I’ve been doing took three weeks,” art student Jo Wilson said. “I just finished it today. [My teacher] brought it down during our lunch period and hung it up.” 

For some students, this effort generates pride to have their creativity and effort recognized. One such student, Cole Wisnefski said he is proud of the work he and his fellow film studies students, including Trout, did for the show.

“We’re very proud of [our film]. We put a lot of effort into it, and we’re glad that everyone can see it,” said Wisnefski. 

 Ultimately, the art show was a way to strengthen the ties in the art community at Lane and demonstrate what they all have to offer, but others can get involved.