New art decorates Mayor's office

When Mayor Stewart Welch took office, he noticed a large blank wall that needed to be filled with decor and artwork. So, he reached out to art teacher Susie Davis at the annual Student Showcase.

Davis, who teaches art at Mountain Brook High School, said "Mayor Welch came up to the art booth, to my AP students, and told me that he had this blank wall in his office that he would love to fill with student artwork."

The idea initially was that one or two works would be presented for each rotation, but it soon grew to feature a gallery of student artwork.

Davis worked with other officials and art teachers to find a hanging system for the office that could work with pieces of different shapes and sizes, and from there, her first round of students presented their work in 2017.

A group of elementary school students from teacher Lauren Fowler presented their pieces over the summer, and on Nov. 29, Welch held a reception for Davis' second set of students.

The works include those done in graphite, pencil, colored pencil, oil pastel, mixed media and printmaking, and often represent the students' own styles and concentrations that Davis encourages in her classes.

"I feel very proud of these kids," Davis said. "My philosophy is, if they succeed, I succeed."

Many of the students who have their art on display currently were featured in the first iteration of the show last year, Davis said, and many have or will submit their pieces to the College Board for AP consideration.

This exhibition's artists include:

• Ella Pyron
• Margot Midkiff
• Nealy Wyatt
• Henry Collins
• Camille Ford
• Holland Tapp
• Christian Fischer
• Delaney Thomas
• Lior Berman
• Harper Cook
• Liam Aberle
• Nancy North
• Mary Frances Torbert
• Alex Washington
• Ginny Carney
• Campbell Doidge
• Massey Jordan
• Lena Pelham
• Julia Baddley
• Ellie Adams

The art will be on display until springtime, when Davis said she is hopeful another art teacher in the school system will take over and feature his or her students.