Edward Milne Community School Grade 12 advance placement art students will host a week-long graduation exhibition at the South Shore Gallery in Sooke.
The exhibit is from April 21 to 27, and approximately 80 art pieces from eight students will be on display.
One of the students is Lilia Egeland, who will be presenting a variety of thin-acrylic paintings at the event.
Egeland says she enjoys using thin-acrylic, which is acrylic paint with water added to it, as a medium because it goes on the canvas nicely and likes the way the colours blend together.
Many of her paintings revolve around the same colour palette, of pinks, yellows and oranges.
“I use those colours because they remind me of sunsets, and that’s what I like a lot of my pieces to resemble,” said Egeland.
Egeland said some of the main things she learned throughout the year in class, aside from technical aspects, was to express herself through art and use it as an outlet.
“Ms. [Sue] Garat is a really cool person. She gives us a lot of freedom with our work and encourages us to branch out and try a lot of different things until we find out what our niche is,” said Egeland.
Garat, who has been teaching art at EMCS for 15 years, says she likes teaching art because she enjoys working with the students and watching them grow as artists.
“I love art, and art history, and I like exposing them to as many artists, cultures and mediums as possible,” she said.
“I try to help the students choose a style, theme or technique, something that they want to pursue and then give them a lot of freedom to push that in a personal direction. It’s awesome to watch them explore their areas of interest.”
Garat’s goal each year is to keep expanding the art program, and provide more opportunities for students.
She said the gallery is a great way for students to build a portfolio, see their work on display and practice promoting themselves.
This is the fifth year the exhibition has taken place at the South Shore Gallery, which is lent out to EMCS by owner Jesse Taylor.
The event will feature a multitude of different art pieces, including paintings, drawings, collages, photography and more.
The event is free, and the work on display will be available for purchase. Students will be at the gallery on opening day to meet with people and see their work on display.
Stick in the Mud Coffeehouse will be providing tea and coffee on opening day, and EMCS culinary students will be providing snacks.