Copperas Cove Junior High students show off their artwork

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press 

The halls of Copperas Cove Junior High School, from the front entrance back through to the cafeteria, have been transformed into an art gallery this week with the school’s annual Art Walk, featuring the entire school year’s worth of art from 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade art students on display. 

This year marks the first time that the campus has put on an end of year showcase since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, according to art teacher Jordan Love. 

There are approximately 2,000 pieces of art made by the art students, he added. The artwork was installed and put on display by the National Junior Art Honor Society students, and the process of installing the different pieces started approximately two weeks prior. 

“We’re just really proud of the kids because we give them their instruction, and they bring all the talent and creativity to everything,” said Jennifer Scott, who is also a CCJHS art teacher. 

“This is like pure opportunity,” Love added. “People like to like brag on us a whole lot, and I’m like, ‘Oh no, no, no. That was them doing the hustling. Purely, purely them.’”

Throughout the year, the students had several opportunities to expand their artistic talents, from op art to Kintsugi to oil pastels, dot arts, block printing, color theory watercolors, scratch art, and more. 

Love said that he kept track of every opportunity and how many pieces each student was able to successfully complete, with the only requirement being that the students’ work represented their best effort. 

“Everything you see is them actually hitting that goal, their skill sets,” Love said. “We kind of critique them along the way and coach them, and they adjust and then we’re good to go.” 

The artwork was displayed in a “hodgepodge”, mix-match style to best show off the different techniques. 

Love said that the goal has been to have the students and their art appear to be more than a junior high level. 

“One of the big things that we are very grateful of at this school in particular is how invested they are in us,” Love said. “The district has been very supportive about getting us supplies that we need so we don’t have to super rely on fundraising, and they literally provided the entire platform for us to push and get the kids what they need.”

Along the windows in the walkway leading back to the cafeteria, large symmetry pieces on display. These types of pieces were only possible due to the light boards provided by the district, Love added. 

Bernice Chaco, 13, said that it has been fun preparing for this Art Walk showcase. 

She said that she felt art was very important for people to see and experience.

“It shows how they’re able to express themselves through art,” Chaco said. “It’s amazing. Some people are very talented, and it’s just great to see it, and they get to show everyone else.”

Chaco said her favorite piece has been the radial symmetry. 

“I got to work on something that I like to do, and it was very pretty colors,” she said. “It was a lot, but it was a lot of fun as well. It showed me that I have talent, because I can’t do some things, but I was able to do that, and I was very proud of myself.” 

Randy Parker, 14, also helped with installing the different pieces. 

“It’s amazing to see what we can do when it’s all put together and shown for the public,” Parker said. 

Parker said he got into art because of his dad, who also took art in middle school and enjoyed it. 

“I did sixth grade, and I really liked it, so I did it in seventh grade, and now I’m in advanced art, taking a high school credit, that I love doing,” Parker said. 

He added that while he doesn’t know exactly whether he would pursue a career in art, he could see himself doing photography later on. 

His favorite style of art that he did that is on display is the fracture drawings, which are of an image that is broken into pieces and shaded to look fractured. 

His next favorite piece was the radial symmetries, which are made using a light board and feature a design with eight sides and triangles. 

The Art Walk will have its finale on Friday, May 20, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will feature an additional installation of a Chihuly tower using water bottles for a piece reminiscent of the glass artist Dale Chihuly’s work.