Creative students share their visions

The work covers the walls of the three rooms in the Huntington Beach Art Center.

One painting is that of a girl’s bloody grin. Some might consider it gruesome, but the artist says blood is just “versatile.”

“Blood is just something you can do so many things with,” said Mary Aksdal, a junior at Fountain Valley High School. “I feel the human body and nature are very beautiful. A lot of people look at blood as a gory, gross thing, but there’s something beautiful about it.

“There are ways you can use it and things you can do with it, anything from a silly horror movie to an ad for a blood drive. It all is very interesting to me.”

Other works seem more innocent, like a 6-year-old’s interpretation of a blue dinosaur.

But while the pieces may reveal vastly different themes and skill levels, they were all created by Huntington Beach students.

The annual exhibition, called “Creative Visions,” is at the center through Saturday. It will then move to the Huntington Beach Union High School District’s main building from April 11 to 22.

On Friday, student musical performances will be part of the artsy scene at the center too, from 5 to 7 p.m.

The art show features a variety of mediums, including paintings, sculptures and computer animations, all created by students, ages 6 to 18, from the high school district, Huntington Beach City School District and Ocean View School District.

Kate Hoffman, executive director of the art center, said the program started 12 years ago when the high school district was looking for a place where students could exhibit some of their projects.

The younger kids were added over the past few years, and Ocean View, which has campuses in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Midway City and Westminster, joined the program last year.

Each year, about 20 students from each school in the districts have donated one or multiple pieces for the annual show.

“It gives them the opportunity to really showcase their work in a professional space and be proud of something they do,” said Daina Anderson, arts district facilitator at Huntington Beach Union High School District. “When you’re an artist, you don’t always get that opportunity to showcase your work. You might have two or three people, like your parents, around you see it, but to have this place filled with people and talking about your pieces is just really cool for them.”

Mary, 16, said this was first time her art has been on display in a gallery.

She said it felt “weird” to see her work in such a professional setting but that she learned a lot.

“Hearing people on the outside of it comment on it and compliment it is just weird and different,” said Mary, who for the “bloody” painting, one of two of her creations in the show, covered her face with costume blood, took a self-portrait and painted the image from the photograph.

“I think that encourages me to keep improving my artwork. It causes a little bit of competitiveness with myself.”

Kaile Dababneh, a junior at Westminster High School, said this was her second time showing her paintings in the exhibit.

She said she enjoys seeing how far she has come since last year’s show.

“I’m definitely a lot more experienced this year,” she said. “My lines are a lot straighter, for example. As an artist, the longer you continue to make art, the better that you do get.”

Art teachers from the high schools agreed this was a rare opportunity for the students and said they had not shown their work until college.

“Any exposure you can give a student to the way the real world works out there really helps,” said Michael Eich, an arts teacher at Fountain Valley High School who participated in his first art show when he was a student at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

Anderson said that because students of varying ages get to participate, it allows them to see how their art can or did progress.

“From an audience standpoint, that’s just a really neat thing, and I also think it brings our communities a little closer together,” she said. “Those little kids will hopefully end up in our classes one day.”

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If You Go

What: “Creative Visions” student art show

Where: Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St.

When: Through Saturday. Gallery hours vary

Cost: Donations accepted

Information: huntingtonbeachartcenter.com