After sports injury, Central student focuses on her art

With a little water and some copper wiring, Natalie Metzger and her classmates turned reeds into insects during Robert Friedrich's art class at Cape Girardeau Central High School.

Metzger, a senior, formed the thin strips into the leg of a katydid Wednesday afternoon.

She said she always enjoyed making art, but she didn't have as much time for it in junior high school because she played many sports. After dislocating her knee several times, she said she paid more attention to her creative side.

"I blame it on my knee, but I wasn't very good," she said.

Although she works with several types of media, Metzger said she enjoys painting. At home, she is working on a portrait where the neck of a woman is replaced with a hanger.

"I really like to work on canvas and do abstract paintings," she said.

Metzger won best in show at the 31st annual High School Art Exhibition sponsored by the Southeast Missouri State University art department. The juried show accepted 143 pieces from 263 entries. In all, 17 area high schools were represented.

Metzger's print titled "Three-In-Me" won the top prize and a $1,500 scholarship to Southeast, where she will study art.

To create the print, she carved the images out of a wood block, layering colors throughout the printing process. She said she enjoys trying unique color combinations.

"They all don't really go together, but I think so," she said.

The print features three side-by-side images of her with chunks of color illustrating her facial features.

The project took two months inside and outside of school, she said.

Metzger showed four pieces in the show, including a sculpture of a giant seedpod constructed out of papier-mache, chicken wire and copper tubing.

"We could barely get it out of the door," she said.

Metzger said she hopes to buy her own gallery and possibly study graphic art.

"I'm not saying I'm good at computers, but I can learn," she said.

The exhibition runs through April 22 at the Crisp Museum at the River Campus.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

@body copy_ragged right:

Pertinent address:

1000 S. Silver Springs Rd. Cape Girardeau, MO