Library exhibit highlights Apponequet artists’ work

Mar 5, 2023

LAKEVILLE — From collages symbolizing family heritage to a digitally-created image of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic eating an accordion, an eclectic collection of artwork made by the artists of Apponequet Regional High School is on display in the Great Ponds Gallery at the Lakeville Public Library.

The library kicked off the gallery’s annual high school month on March 4, inviting the public to view this year’s collection of works by local students and meet some of the artists behind the art.

The high school art exhibit is on display in the gallery through March 30 and can be viewed during library hours.

Paintings, drawings, and digitally-crafted images both realistic and abstract line the gallery walls. 

Work from students in courses ranging from introductory to Advanced Placement is included in the gallery, according to art teacher Maura Erwin.

Art teacher Lisa Feiteira teaches a class on digital art and photography, and her students used Adobe Photoshop to make collages based on their cultural heritage which are on display in the gallery.

Senior Sadie Pires created a collage inspired by her maternal grandparents. It features photos of her grandmother and grandfather, scenes from their respective hometowns in Portugal, their immigration documents, and hydrangeas, which grow naturally in Portugal and regularly feature in her grandmother’s garden.

“I was inspired to do it because I’m Portuguese and that culture is a big part of my life,” Pires said.

There are detailed still life drawings that convey the shadows of the scene and the texture of the objects, as well as abstract drawings like junior Elaina Kyne’s “A is for Anguish”, which she created with colored pencils and markers.

Senior Kara Balboni mixed mediums, creating an engraved clay leaf with a pattern sewn into the center in a work titled “Leaf Loom.”

While some artists paid tribute to their heritage, others paid tribute to their pets. Senior Marcus Allen used tempera paint to depict himself and his cat in a piece titled “Best Friends.”

Additional highlights of the gallery include senior Lily Brouillette’s pieces titled “Unmasking” and “Candy Still Life,” senior Deidre Blais’s “Among the Lillies,” and senior Joshua Neff’s “Renaissance Reunion,” among many others.