Laughter and jazz filled the rooms of Tom & Chickpea as talented, young artists came together to celebrate their works. The building buzzed with laughter and excitement; the passion of the artists feeling practically tangible as they reveled in their hard work. Paintings and drawings lined the historic walls of a local art and furniture shop down the road from Pinkerton: Tom & Chickpea.
On the evening of Friday, December 8 young artists and their friends and families gathered at Tom & Chickpea in Derry, NH to celebrate their creations.
Interestingly, an accident catalyzed the student exhibition at Tom & Chickpea in the first place. Mr. Gonzalez stumbled upon Tom & Chickpea shortly after moving to Derry, in an attempt to find directions to a local diner. Morgan wanted to collaborate with Pinkerton’s art students for a while, but wasn’t sure how to proceed until the new art teacher stumbled right through her door.
The second annual art show featured works from Pinkerton’s A.P. Studio Art and Advanced Studio Art classes.
The students’ pieces displayed in Tom & Chickpea can actually be purchased, with a portion of sales being commissioned to the artists themselves. This gives young artists the opportunity to not only profit off of their hard work, but also gain valuable experience in selling art.
As explained by Lori Morgan, the owner of Tom & Chickpea, “It is a really important part of the curriculum to learn the business side of art because there’s a lot to learn.”
In addition to financial education, the art exhibition provided an opportunity for student recognition. The night put a focus on the talent the art department holds, which can be difficult to highlight
“There’s a lot of different activities that celebrate different things people are interested in, and there isn’t a lot to celebrate art” explained Sadie Fortune, president of the Art Club and an organizer of the event. “I think having that focus on that [art] and bringing attention to it is important and helps people feel more celebrated.”
The art exhibition shone spotlight on more than just visual art, though, as the Art Club collaborated with musicians at Pinkerton to create an elegant night of smooth jazz. The music played was entirely live by students Sage Konick and Dia Dhabolt, combining audible art with visual art in an elegant blend of smooth jazz.
Having art showcased publicly is a new experience for many young artists.
Junior Leigha Lemay, who is taking Mr. Gonzalez’s Fundamentals of Drawing class said “It feels great. It’s my first time, so it’s kind of cool.”
Mr. Gonzalez felt overjoyed to see his students’ work displayed. He is a teacher who is incredibly passionate about not only art, but his students themselves.
In the excitement of the exhibition, he stated that he loves the “little sparkles of art students coming in here.”
