Artwork from different local schools was on display for the community to see at the Tarble Arts Center.

The 29th annual Children’s Art Exhibition was on display from April 30 to May 22.

The art pieces ranged from 2D to 3D designs and featured a variety of media.

The piece “Sara” by third-grader Madison Morecraft is a foot-high statue of a girl whose hair is made out of yarn and clothes made out of different fabric pieces.

“Staring Contest” by twelfth-grader Rashell McWhorter is a detailed graphite drawing of a tiger’s face.

“Veterans’ Tribute” by twelfth-grader Jacob Cole is a collage with magazine and paper cut-outs of soldiers in a battle.

Kit Morice, the curator of education, said the Children’s Art Exhibition is the largest and one of the most popular shows done annually in the Tarble Arts Center.

Morice, who helped organize the exhibit, said the 287 art pieces in the exhibit this year represented 43 area schools in eight counties in east central Illinois.

Morice said art pieces are entered into the exhibit by invitation to certified art teachers in the schools.

“Each school is allowed so many works dependent on how many students they see, so larger schools get more entries, smaller schools have fewer entries,” Morice said.

Morice said artwork is submitted by April and organizing the exhibit takes one week.

Although the exhibit is only shown in the Tarble Arts Center, Morice said a traveling children’s exhibit called “Cultivating Creativity” is connected to the art show.

“From this show, one work is selected from each school to go in a traveling children’s art exhibition, and that starts in the fall and travels to the next summer,” she said.

The awards presentation was Sunday, May 15, where every student artist received a certificate of participation for his or her entries.

Morice said over 700 people attended the awards reception, including education groups from local areas.

“The Retired Teachers’ Association meets here every May because we have the children’s show here,” Morice said.

According to Morice, last year produced a record number of student artists entered in the exhibit.

This year, slightly fewer people were entered because some schools were not able to participate.

Despite the fewer number of people, Morice said the show gives art teachers an opportunity to showcase the talents of their students and art programs.

Morice also said she and the other Tarble representatives hope the exhibit stresses the importance of art as a regular part of school curriculum, especially during hard economic times where funding for art and art instructors are being cut back.

“That will eventually be detrimental to those students’ education,” Morice said. “Art influences students in so many more ways than just the act of creating something.”

Alesha Bailey can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].