FAB Showcase raises cash, awareness about the arts
BUTLER TWP — An estimated 2,000 people spent Saturday night celebrating the arts at the Butler School District's 13th annual FAB Showcase fundraiser, benefiting scholarships and teacher grants.
The FAB (Fine Arts and Beyond) Showcase is sponsored by the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation and is free to the public. The showcase displays art made by district students from first to 12th grade, with the artwork from ninth to 12th grade artists available for auction.
In addition to displaying art, there were raffles, face painting, clowns and demonstrations from local artists, teachers and students. Tom Panei, a local artist, demonstrated his technique, using pastels on wood. Two Butler teachers, Ryan Benedetti and John Pugliese, did demonstrations on their artwork as well.
Benedetti, an art teacher at both the intermediate and senior high school, worked on a new sculpture he's making: a standing peacock that will double as a flower pot. The long, ornate tail of the peacock will actually be hollowed out as a trough, where the flowers will grow.
“The train of the tail will hold growing flowers and vines,” he said.
Benedetti leads by example for his students who are interested in art. Not only does he sell his artwork on the side, but he also is helping one of his students start her own art commissions.
On display at the showcase were sculpted dragon heads, mounted on pieces of wood and available for auction. This is one of the lessons Benedetti does with his students, and there was significant interest in buying more dragons at the showcase. Benedetti decided that even though he could make them for people, his work would be more expensive than a student who also does impressive work.
That's how Grace Clendenning, a ninth grader, now has five commissions on her plate for mounted dragon heads that she'll sell.
The dragon heads started as a major, nine-week project for Benedetti's art students, focusing on skeletal and muscular anatomy to make the most realistic sculptures, Benedetti said. The dragons are made out of newspaper, wet paper towels and glass beads for eyes, painted with a glue mixture to give the dragons their scalelike gloss.
This lets Grace customize each order to the desires of her customers, she said. They can tell her what they want the dragon to look like, specifying colors and ornaments like horns, she said.
Benedetti lets Grace work on the commissioned projects in her spare time and during her free periods at school, he said.
Grace has made two dragons already, with each one taking roughly a month and a half, she said. Halfway through the FAB Showcase, she had five more orders lined up.
Although Grace is a little nervous to impress her customers, she recognizes that this is a great opportunity for her, since she plans to pursue art.“I'm really happy,” she said. “I think it's awesome that I got this opportunity that other kids at other schools might not.”And that's one of the strengths of the FAB Showcase, according to Erich Campbell, head of the art department at Butler. It shows the students that the arts are valued and appreciated here, while still raising plenty of money for scholarships and teaching grants that will go back into the district.“It is by far the biggest event in the district,” Campbell said. “It's the most important event of the year, and it all goes back to the community, the kids and the education.”Even for students who are not planning to pursue art, the opportunity to have art classes and block out time for their own expression and creativity is valued. Just ask Eli Hartung, a senior.Eli was one of many students who demonstrated how to throw clay on pottery wheels during the FAB Showcase. While Eli has been taking ceramics for two years, he cherishes the time set aside in his schedule to worry a little less about tests and studying in the traditional way.“I look forward to (ceramics class) throughout the day,” he said. The class gives him a way to express himself in a more laid-back environment. Although there are still grades to earn, he said he feels less pressure and can relax while he works with the clay.Eli does not plan to pursue art, hoping to become a psychiatrist, but he does plan on taking some art classes in college and pursuing ceramics as a relaxing hobby, he said.Another way to keep the event fun but still promote education is with the living statues. Just as Benedetti uses sculpture to teach about anatomy, the living statues teach the attendees about Greco-Roman art.The living statues this year were four seniors, dressed in sheets and all white, painted from head to toe with white paint and baby powder. The students started on the stairs near the main entrance of the showcase and moved throughout the evening, changing poses inspired by Greco-Roman statues every five to 10 minutes, according to Joey Farmer, a senior.Joey, with white paint covering his whole face, even his lips and eyelids, said he was enjoying his night as a statue, especially with the reactions from the attendees.“It's actually fun to have people walk by and try to see if you're moving or blinking,” he said.With a sign quoting Keith Haring, famous artist, “Art is for everybody,” the FAB Showcase made that clear, with a crowd of all ages supporting the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation on Saturday night at the intermediate high school.Although this year's fundraised total is not yet known, Campbell said the foundation has raised about $60,000 each year for the past few years, and he is expecting a similar result this year.
