Student art exhibit at River Campus is impressive

We give lots of attention to high school students for their athletic and academic pursuits.

Whether it's covering games and profiling athletes, or featuring merit scholar award winners or valedictorians and listing honor rolls, a lot of praise and well-deserved attention is given to those who excel in the arenas of sport and academics.

But goodness, do we have some talented artists, too.

As reported recently by Matt Dollard for the Southeast Missourian, hundreds of pieces of artwork are on display at the River Campus as part of "Exhibiting Excellence: 40th Annual High School Art Exhibition."

Some of this artwork will blow you away.

Most of these pieces were meticulous; just so. The artwork not only demonstrates talent, but also a serious commitment to creativity and craft. Like sports and academics, beautiful art does not happen overnight. Much practice is put in, developing skills, patience and knowledge of how different elements come together to make a unique piece of art. In today's attention-deficit, screen-addicted society, it's pleasing to know that young people out there are still using their hands to draw, paint and sculpt.

Twenty-five schools from Southeast Missouri participated in the exhibit.

As Dollard reported, Savannah Gourley of Dexter (Missouri) High School received Best of Show for her piece "Focus." She also was awarded the Dr. Edwin Smith Scholarship for $1,000 to attend Southeast as an art major.

We highly encourage you to check out the exhibition at the River Campus. You'll be amazed by the art produced by our teenagers across the region.

Congrats to all the artists whose work was selected. Well done.