`EXHIBIT IN EXCELLENCE': ART FROM THE SCHOOLS

Herbert Wickham, a retired art teacher from Jackson, called himself a lucky coach who had too many players to put in the game.

And with 541 entries, Wickham had to narrow his list to just 72 players. Wickham judged the 18th annual High School Art Symposium, an exhibit open to students in grades 10-12.

The "Exhibit in Excellence" opened Sunday afternoon at the University Museum in Memorial Hall at Southeast Missouri State University. It continues through the end of the month.

A pencil drawing of Dennis Rodman with a head of green hair, an NBA player hanging from the basketball net after a slam dunk and a photograph of a football pep rally and bonfire were some of players on Wickham's team of art work.

High school art teachers from Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois entered student pieces in six categories: painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics and fibers.

"What I walked into that day was a classroom piled high with all sorts of art in all shapes and sizes and ready for inspection," Wickham said in his juror's statement. "All this bodes well for the symposium, and proves that interest in art is growing throughout the area...again."

Art teachers agree that students are motivated after entering exhibits and shows at the university.

"It's one of the biggest honors they can get at the high school level," said Judy Barks-Westrich, art teacher at Cape Girardeau Central High School.

But choosing which pieces to enter always produces a dilemma for both the teacher and the student.

"You can't outguess the judges," said Jane Cable, an art teacher at DeSoto High School, which had the majority of entries in the exhibit.

"One of the last ones I pulled off my bulletin board got into the show," she said.

Justin Ryan Weaver, a junior at Cape Central, said his third-place printmaking entry was a last-minute design.

"I sent in two different projects, one of a soda can being crushed," and `Fit for Framing' he said, adding that his winning entry was a spur-of-the-moment drawing. "I'm surprised I got this far."

Weaver was also selected to draw the poster advertising next year's art symposium at the university.

First place winners in the exhibit were Geoff J. Wiley, DeSoto High School, sculpture; Nathan Dickinson, DeSoto High School, painting; Tabby Brunk, Arcadia Valley High School, printmaking; Sarah Warncke, DeSoto High School, ceramics; Jamie Gosche, Notre Dame High School, fibers; Heather Agers, DeSoto High School, photography; and Brock Freidrich, Jackson High School, drawing.

Second place winners include Derek Fenwick, Notre Dame High School, sculpture; Kyle Speropoulos, DeSoto High School, painting; Gabe Colbeck, DeSoto High School, printmaking; Brian Grass, Ste. Genevieve High School, ceramics; Angela Weston, Bismarck High School, fibers; Robin Propst, DeSoto High School, photography; and Heather Bowman, Kennett High School, drawing.

Third place winners were Alexa Cota, Sikeston High School, sculpture; Susan Francis, Cape Girardeau Central High School, painting; Justin Ryan Weaver, Cape Girardeau Central High School, printmaking; Trey Noles, Sikeston High School, ceramics; D.J. Trokey, Potosi High School, photography; Brandon Schipkowski, DeSoto High School, drawing. There was not a third place entry in the fibers category.

Additional awards were given in the drawing category since it was so large. The winners include Kris Alexander, Sikeston High School, fourth place; Kyle Speropoulos, DeSoto High School, fifth place; and Jimmy Hemann, Kennett High School, sixth place.

The student art work will be on display through Feb. 29 at the museum, located inside Memorial Hall. It is open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. weekdays or by appointment. For more information, call 651-2260.