About 15 people enjoyed local teachers’ art on display at the “Beyond the Classroom” exhibition that opened Thursday.
The pieces in the Mezzanine Gallery, all of which were made by local teachers, have created a good energy inside the Thomas Center at UF, said exhibition installer Jana Middleton.
“The exhibit shows what art teachers do outside of being an art teacher. It reflects the rest of their lives,” said Sherrie Pettigrew, an artist and curator for the show.
She has known some teachers featured in the exhibit for more than 27 years.
“We are a tight group that has been through a lot together,” Pettigrew said. “We are an endangered species.”
The show featured multiple art media, from pencil drawings and photography to sculptings.
Paula Anderson and Monica Coker, teachers at A. Quinn Jones Center and Sidney Lanier Elementary School hook rugs together.
“We drink some wine and do some hooking,” said Coker, who has been rug hooking since 2000.
In 2013, Alachua art teachers’ works will be exhibited again when the Thomas Center opens its galleries in the fall as part of its October show, said Debbie Gallagher, a fine arts curriculum specialist at the Kirby Smith Center and contributor to the show.
