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Snow Hill students take part in ninth annual Paint Berlin

JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Students from Snow Hill High School last Friday take part in the ninth annual Paint Berlin competition.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Sept. 27, 2018) Fifteen students from Snow Hill High School visited Berlin last Friday to take part in the Worcester County Arts Council’s ninth annual Paint Berlin event.

Students took part in a “quick-draw” competition Friday morning, when artists spread from the arts council building on Jefferson Street to the library on Harrison Avenue and have two hours to paint.

Their works were framed, hung and judged by local artist Doris Glovier.

“They are judged differently than the paintings where people may have worked all day,” Arts council board member Donna Main said. “It’s sort of a little adrenaline rush and a creative surge for the artists.”

In addition to the students, about half of the 38 artists participating in the larger, four-day event took part in the quick draw. Mateus Costa from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, the overall first-prize winner in the 2017 Paint Berlin competition, won the 2018 quick-draw contest.

Monica Forrester, a visual arts teacher at Snow Hill High School, brought a handful of students to Paint Berlin last year for artist studio tours, including visits with Patrick Henry at Henry Fine Arts and with her daughter, Caroline Forrester Downes, at CFD Fine Jewelry.

“It’s a great opportunity for the kids to get the experience of real-life painting, and what an awesome experience to be able to come here with the Worcester County Arts Council,” she said. “I think it’s just that excitement of seeing these professional artists on the streets and seeing [live painting] happen.”

Forrester said students this week worked outside with watercolors to prepare for Paint Berlin.

“It’s easy cleanup, versus oil painting,” she said. “They’re really excited. This year I wanted them to just focus on work, to just create.”

Worcester County Arts Council Executive Director Anna Mullis said she was thrilled to have the students taking part.

“It’s a big excitement for us and we’re really happy that we have this partnership with Snow Hill High School,” she said. “I appreciate Monica’s involvement. Of course, she’s a former arts council board member and she knows how important it is to expose children to arts as early as we can.

“Also, I think is just going to be a great opportunity to see kids on the street and having them learn from professional artists,” Mullis continued. “We hope to have the kids’ artwork on display at the gallery, but we really cannot estimate how much artwork we receive from the artists — but we are ready for any possibilities here!”

Paint Berlin work will remain on display at the Worcester County Arts Council building through Sept. 28.

For more information, call 410-641-0809 or visit www.worcestercountyartscouncil.org.