Art show highlights student creativity
BUTLER TWP — The 15th annual Fine Arts and Beyond (FAB) Showcase held on Saturday evening at the Butler Intermediate High School included thousands of works of art, musical presentations, art demonstrations, delicious goodies and 55 baskets that could be won by the art lovers who attended.
The free event is a major fundraiser for the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, which offers scholarships to graduating seniors, provides creative teaching grants to Butler School District educators and helps fund the district's Kids' Weekend Backpack Program that helps feed elementary students in need.
Audray Muscatello Yost, a retired teacher and president of the foundation, said the event usually attracts about 2,000 people.
“We're really excited,” Yost said. “There are artistic and creative children and this is our chance to show what they can do.”
All art displayed was available for purchase, and judges awarded prizes in several categories.
Every hallway in the school offered some type of art, including drawings, pottery, photography, sculptures and more.
Musical acts including a string ensemble and a ukulele group performed just inside the entrance, where a 50/50 raffle was up to more than $9,000 just one hour after the showcase opened.
In the library, 18 raffle baskets included a purse basket worth $700 and a cash basket with $599. In the hallway outside, the foundation oversaw a silent auction with 37 baskets that included Steelers tickets and parking pass, a “man crate,” jewelry and restaurant baskets.
Yost said most of the baskets were worth between $300 and $400.
The plethora of basket items were either donated or collected by teachers in the nine district schools. Each school provided a basket.
Ava Hindman, a student at the Butler Middle School, attended with her mother, Gayle.
“The art looks really good and very creative,” Ava said.
Her mother was surprised at the caliber of the drawings the two perused across from the auditorium entrance.
“It's amazing to see the talent that these children have,” said Hindman. “It's important for kids to see that their minds can create anything and not to think they can't try it.”
Aidan Ketterer, a freshman at the intermediate high school, had his own board in the hallway that displayed 13 photos he had taken. His favorite was a black-and-white of a partial moon.
“A picture can show your point of view, but everyone who looks at it will have a different perspective,” Aidan said of his penchant for photography.
Summit Elementary student Evan Conaway, 7, said he and his family attended the showcase to see the art of his brother, Ryan.Evan, who wore a black and gold helmet made of balloons by one of the clowns at the event, said he was impressed with all the art he saw.“I kept thinking that I want to keep it,” he said.Evan said he is an artist as well, whose favorite medium is creating sculptures from paper and tape.Victoria Davis, a Butler High School junior, displayed two photos and two paintings.“I love art and I love seeing my classmates' art too,” she said.Saturday evening marked the third FAB Showcase in which Victoria has displayed artwork, and she always enjoys watching folks peer at her creations.“It feels pretty cool,” she said. “It's an ego booster, and it makes me want to keep going.”Victoria plans to attend art school after high school.Ryan Benedetti, a sculpture and ceramics teacher at the high school, demonstrated along with a handful of students the animals they carved from huge blocks of Styrofoam.Three eagles, a larger-than-life deer and a tyrannosaurus rex skeleton were created by Benedetti and the students using a chain saw first, then large files to fine tune the animals' shapes.Benedetti explained that he also creates wooden sculptures with a chain saw in his spare time.“(The Styrofoam sculptures) are a way to bring what I do outside of school inside,” he said. “The students are doing an excellent job. This is really high-level work and they spend a lot of time on it.”Ed Fink, a former teacher and Butler superintendent who has served on the board since the first showcase 15 years ago, said many other school activities get attention, and he's glad the art students have the showcase to display their work.“It's a wonderful event for the entire community and sheds light on our students in the arts,” Fink said.He has relished each and every year on the foundation board, as well as the annual art showcases, he said.“I enjoy seeing people appreciate our school district and I enjoy the people I work with on the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation,” Fink said.
