Hunt Country Students Present “Healing Through Color” at AiM
Written by Shayda Windle | Photos by Callie Broaddus
For many, March is synonymous with the arrival of spring, but for young creatives, it marks something even more special: Youth Art Month. This nationwide celebration emphasizes the importance of art in children’s education, and this year’s theme, “Healing Through Color,” resonated deeply with art instructors across Hunt Country.
The Artists in Middleburg (AiM) and Foxcroft School embraced the theme by providing area students with unique opportunities to explore color as a tool for self-expression. Leading the initiative was Julie Fisher, director of Foxcroft’s STEAM Program, who organized a collaborative effort connecting high schoolers with elementary students to create meaningful works of art. Four schools will participate in this year’s exhibit: Banneker Elementary, Claude Thompson Elementary, Foxcroft School, and Middleburg Community Charter School (MCCS).
Each school developed unique lesson plans interpreting the “Healing Through Color” prompt selected by the Council for Art Education. Foxcroft photography and biology students visited Oak Spring Garden Foundation in December to explore the intersection of botany and environmental art. They created a colorful spectrum of paints, inks, and dyes from plants harvested on the Biocultural Conservation Farm.
Foxcroft photography students also worked closely with children at MCCS on a nature-inspired mandala project. MCCS art teacher Sheena Custer collaborated with Fisher to instruct a group of 24 second graders on the project. Using radial symmetry and natural patterns captured in photographs taken by the Foxcroft students, the younger scholars designed intricate compositions with lines, shapes, and colors. The following week, Fisher returned to MCCS to introduce the class to cyanotype printing, a sun-powered photography technique. Equipped with her own portable darkroom, she guided the young artists as they arranged patterns, exposed their designs to sunlight, and developed striking blue-and-white prints.
The experience at MCCS left a lasting impression. “It felt good to learn new things,” one student shared. Another added, “I liked that we got to choose our design and go into the darkroom.” Perhaps the best feedback of all? “Everyone had fun! I don’t think I saw a single frown.”
Banneker Elementary School also participated in the program, with art teacher Marlena Beach at the helm. She agrees the theme is fitting because “social emotional health [is] front and center in education right now,” she shares. Banneker has participated in AiM shows for the past four years, with students from Foxcroft helping younger artists with their projects. Beach recalls, “While discussing the theme and ideas with Julie, I liked the idea of … combining the theme with the natural world. We felt that ‘Healing Through Color’ would only amplify its potential for students. It’s a lively art-making exchange when the older students work with the younger students. Our kids are surely inspired by the Foxcroft artists.”
As they worked on the project, classes at Banneker discussed how artists often express their emotions in their art, and “the fleeting nature of our emotions,” as Beach explains, which, whether positive or negative, tend to come and go quickly. Second graders painted cardboard birds, choosing an emotion and the color often associated with it from a chart that was provided. Next, using line and color, they added more expression and emotion to their bird. Fifth graders sketched feathers using colored pencils and worked on blending and creating textures, while fourth graders drew Virginia birds looking at field markings to help identify them. All second-grade work and a selection of pieces from fourth and fifth graders will be on display at AiM. Of the cross-school collaboration, one Foxcroft pupil shared, “Working with the kids was super fun. I enjoyed watching their creativity and artistic visions come to life. I feel like I was able to help more because of the project I had just done [in my Scientific Illustration class]. I loved working with the kids and would definitely do it again.”
Custer shares that the students love making connections between art and other subjects. “When students integrate their knowledge across disciplines, their understanding deepens, making the artistic process even more meaningful,” she says. “The theme of our show, ‘Healing Through Color,’ is especially powerful because art is not just about creativity; it’s a way to express emotions and process experiences. Teaching young children how to use art as a tool for emotional expression is incredibly rewarding.”
“Healing Through Color” will be on display at AiM from February 28 through March 18, with a reception on the opening night from 4 to 6 p.m. featuring a special performance from the Foxcroft Treble Club. The work is not for sale, but AiM does accept donations, all of which go back to its mission championing “creativity in the visual arts for people of all ages and abilities in our community, especially the youth, through educational programs and exhibitions.” The Artists in Middleburg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located at 102 W. Washington Street in Middleburg. For more information, visit theartistsinmiddleburg.org. ML
Published in the March 2025 issue of Middleburg Life.