Art works of four Columbia–area students are now on view at the Columbia Museum of Art as part of this year’s Youth Art Celebration, an initiative of the SC Art Education Association.

This year the criteria for the celebration challenged students to create art works in the style of a well–known artist. In the central region where Columbia is located, students created works in the style of Boyd Saunders, USC art professor emeritus.

Emulating Saunders’s style were Ridge View High School junior Shavar Foster, Hand Middle School eighth grader Katelynn Gadow, Lonnie B. Nelson third grader Barrett Charpia, and Chapin High School junior David Gilbertson.

Artists whose styles were emulated by students in other regions of the state were Jasper Johns, Philip Simmons, Sam Doyle, Leo Twiggs, Robert Courtright, Elizabeth O’Neill Verner, Alive Ravenel Huger Smith, and Tarleton Blackwell.

Works of these artists were displayed alongside the students’ interpretations. The artists’ pieces were from private or museum collections.

Speakers during the awards ceremony emphasized art education’s importance in reinforcing and bringing to life what students learn in other subjects. Art teaches sensitivity to beauty, order, and other expressive qualities, exposes students to creative problem solving, critical thinking abilities, and gives students a great understanding of multi–cultural values and beliefs.

The works of students chosen for the exhibition were created through the instruction of a lesson plan that adhered to state and national standards with emphasis placed on the importance of understanding and interpretation.

The students’ works celebrate the 80th year the arts education organization has emphasized the value of art education and public support.