Wendy Framst felt guilty being the only one who got to see the works of art created by her students in their art lessons.
Since piano teachers and other instrument instructors often concluded lesson cycles with a live recital for family and friends, Framst quickly concocted her version of that. For the fourth year in a row, her students are in the spotlight at the Prince George Public Library's Keith Gordon Room. Their works of art are on display on Saturday afternoon and several of them will present artists talks and other public discussions about their work.
"Some of them get up and say their name and talk about their work and who they were inspired by," said Framst. "Almost all of the students have been with me all four years, particularly my junior students. For a lot of them, that's totally normal. They think all art students get to have their own exhibition."
These students run the range of ages from 10 years old to adult. Framst said she has sometimes wondered if she should invest the time and effort into the annual event, but then the students, especially the children, will tell her how they've gotten a new outfit or bought a special new pair of shoes to dress up in for their big night. That's when she's shown with full impact just how important this show is for the students.
"It also builds community, because most of these lessons are private so they finally get to meet each other after seeing the work at my home studio," Framst said. "They talk about it with me, and they do influence one another and are interested in each other's work, but they are from all these different schools from all over the city, so they get to know each other in a solitary way then come together to meet in person each year and build some unique kinds of friendships, and for the adults as well."
Framst has been teaching art lessons as a home-based business for the past 16 years but it was four years ago when she took the experience up a notch. She also includes her own paintings in the student exhibition to give the aspiring artists some context about how they are progressing and one more slice of information about what is attainable and how to do it.
These works of art are on display now and the reception will be held, by invitation, Saturday at about 2 p.m. at the Bob Harkins Branch downtown. Information is available at www.wendyframst.ca.
