EXHIBIT ON LOAN FROM RED CLOUD HERITAGE CENTER

August 20th - October 5th

ALPHA SCHOOL

STUDENTS OF ALPHA SCHOOL IN OMAHA, NE

JULY 23 - AUG 31

About The Program

For over 40 years, Alpha School has offered services for students in southeast Nebraska and Western Iowa who have not been successful in the public school system. Students are typically referred to Alpha school because they are physically aggressive, verbally aggressive, or display other behaviors that negatively impact their academic and/or social progress and the learning environment of others. Alpha School believes that all students regardless of their disability can change if they understand how change benefits them and are taught replacement skills. We begin with the assumption our students have not mastered certain life skills and require participation in our skill development program utilizing a "learning by doing" model. 

Artists in this exhibit range from elementary to high school. They are students who are working very hard chanel their energy and emotions into their artisty and have created a beautiful show to be truly proud of. We are honored to give these students the opportunity to showcase their budding talents.  

This exhibit is made possible through the creative concepts of Alpha Administrator Ms. Essay, and the hard efforts of Alpha Art Educator Ms. Pitcher. 

Below the students have worked hard to craft their artist statements. Please enjoy! 

Ayden's Artist Statement:

Hello! My name is Ayden and I am a High School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by outer space, bright colors and fire. My favorite medium is markers and drawing with pencil. I like to create art because it is an escape from reality when I am frustrated or sad. It also helps me ignore distractions at school so I can focus on my work better. My creative process involves drawing, coloring with markers, and using tempera paint to create an overlay of stars. I've been into art for about 5 years now. It started when I first started going to behavioral school. Art means a lot to me, especially when I use it as a coping skill. It helps keep me from being impulsive and doing things I shouldn't or that might get me in trouble. I believe art is important because everyone's art is different and no matter what, it is always beautiful in its own way. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing my passion with you!

Brian's Artist Statement:

Hello! My name is Brian and I am a Junior High student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by colors, and outer space. My favorite medium of Art is painting, but I also like doing chalk and silhouette drawings. I like to explore different kinds of painting techniques. My favorite technique is splatter painting to create pictures of galaxies. My creative process involves choosing colors that remind me of space, then using those colors to create colorful chalk backgrounds on black paper. I finish off my pictures by using toothbrushes and tempera paint to create the stars. I became interested in doing Art about 6 years ago because it made me feel happy. I believe Art is a great way to help other people feel happy and express themselves, too. Making art for people other than yourself is also a really important way to help people around you feel better. I would like to continue creating art to help me improve, get better at different kinds of painting and to hopefully be a famous artist someday. Thank you for taking the time to learn about me and my paintings. I look forward to sharing them with you.

Cannon's Artist Statement:

Hello! My name is Cannon and I am a High School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by things that make people smile. My favorite medium is colored pencil, but I also like using markers. I like to design my own logos. I make them with bright colors so they look more realistic, like they can shine. My creative process involves drawing before coloring with colored pencils or markers. I started doing art when I was 6. I made some art at school, and when I brought it home, my mom was really happy and proud of me. I wanted to keep making her feel like that, so I continued making art. Art also helps me calm myself when I am frustrated. I would like to become a professional artist some day. I believe that art has the power to make people happy and bring smiles to their faces. By creating art, I hope to make people feel as good as art makes me feel. I am excited to share my work with you and invite you to enjoy my art in your own way. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing my passion with you!

Carmita's Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Carmita and I am an Elementary student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by patterns. My favorite medium is painting. I like to make artwork patterns and designs. I like to make artwork that is fun to look at and uses lots of different colors. My creative process often involves drawing, coloring and painting. I believe that art has the power to make other people also want to be creative. By creating art, I hope to make other people also want to create their own art and maybe become famous artists some day. I am excited to share my painting with you and hope looking at it makes you want to paint. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art!

Desmend's Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Desmend and I am a Middle School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by cartoons. My favorite medium is painting, but I also like drawing. I like to make artwork of things from nature or of things I see on TV. I like to make artwork that is really silly and careful. My creative process often involves painting, drawing, and markers. I believe that art can make people feel really calm and relaxed. By creating art, I hope to make people feel the same way. I am excited to share my creations with you and invite you to enjoy my exhibit piece. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing my passion with you!

Devereon's Artist Statment:

Hello, my name is Devereon and I am a Junior High student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by outer space. My favorite medium is painting. I like to make artwork of galaxies and nebulas. I like to make artwork that is realistic, with a lot of contrast to make the colors look bright. My creative process often involves drawing and painting. I believe that art has the ability to help people share their interests and inspire others. By creating art, I hope to help people feel calm and focused, since that is how art makes me feel. I have been interested in art all my life, and hope seeing my art will make you want to create your own paintings. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing my work with you.

Eric's Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Eric and I am a Middle School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by my family and sports. My favorite medium is drawing and sometimes chalk or pastels. I like to make artwork of things that are important to me and my family, especially my mom.I like to make art that uses a lot of color. My creative process often involves drawing and painting. I started being interested in art when I was really little because it helps me calm down when I'm mad, while also being fun. It also helps me show my mom how much I love her. I made this picture because roses are really important to her and make her happy. I hope my art makes you feel as happy as it makes me. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing my work with you.

Jacob's Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Jacob and I am a High School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by history. My favorite medium is drawing, but I also like using markers and colored pencils. I like to make artwork of things that you might see in history books. I like to make artwork that is detailed and careful. My creative process often involves drawing and coloring. I believe that art can make people feel calm and inspired. By creating art, I hope to make people want to learn more about art history. I am excited to share my picture with you. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Jaidan Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Jaidan and I am a Junior High student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by sculpture made from atypical materials. My favorite mediums are cardboard and tempera paints. I like to create highly detailed sculptures of things you would find in a large city. I am especially inspired by skyscrapers and different types of vehicles. My creative process involves coming up with a basic idea in my head, then making changes on the fly as I create my sculpture. I frequently change my mind and undo or redo aspects of my work as I go. I didn't become interested in art until about 2 years ago, when I found out it could help calm my body and soothe my mind. I didn't enjoy drawing or painting on paper the way we usually did in school, but when I discovered sculpting from cardboard, I felt much more inspired. I believe that art has the power to inspire people to create things in ways they wouldn't normally think of. A lot of people wouldn't think to make art out of cardboard, but my art has been really popular. Art is everywhere and so are the possibilities. Thank you for taking the time to learn about myself and my art. Go out and find a new way to create something, too.

Michel Artist Statment:

Hello! My name is Michel, and I am an Elementary student at Alpha School. As an artist I am inspired by cartoons and manga. My favorite medium is drawing with colored pencils. I like to make artwork because it helps me express my feelings. I first became interested in art when I was 7 years old because it helped me feel happy. When I made this picture I was feeling lost, but creating it helped me feel calmer and less sad. My creative process involves drawing cartoon characters with pencil and then coloring with colored pencils or color sticks, depending on how I'm feeling. Art is important to me because it is a good way for people to express what they are feeling if they can't do it with words. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope looking at my art makes you feel happy, too.

Omar Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Omar and I am a High School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by bright colors, emotions, and how colors can come together to make a work pop out at the viewer. My favorite medium is colored pencil. I've been interested in art for about 7 years, after I discovered how calming it can be. I have ADHD, and doing art can help me to relax my mind and focus on my work. My artistic process involves drawing, outlining, and using brightly colored markers. I believe that art has the ability to bring joy to and inspire others. I created my art as a work from my heart and want to share that happiness with my audience. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about myself and my art. I hope you enjoy my work and it inspires you to create your own.

Steven Artist Statement:

Hello, my name is Steven and I am a Junior High student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by things I see in nature. My favorite medium is marker. I like to create art because of my grandmother. When I was 3, she introduced me to coloring books. As I got older she showed me bigger and more detailed coloring books, which got me interested in learning to create my own drawings. I was especially inspired by butterflies, which are her favorite animal. My artistic process involves drawing, outlining, and using brightly colored markers. I believe that art has the power to help you express yourselves and inspire others to do the same. It can also help you connect with people you love, and calm your brain. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about myself and my art. I hope you enjoy my work and it inspires you to create your own.

Tyrin Artist Statement: Hi, my name is Tyrin and I am an Elementary student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by shapes and colors. My favorite mediums are markers and paint. I like to make artwork of animals and cars. I like to make art that looks like cartoons with really bright colors. My creative process involves pencil, marker, and paint. I believe that art has the power to inspire other people to become artists because art is beautiful and colorful. By creating art I hope to make people happy and proud of how hard I worked. Thank you for looking at my art and I hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to sharing my art with you.

Xavier Artist Statement: 

Hello, my name is Xavier and I am a High School student at Alpha School. As an artist, I am inspired by abstract art. My favorite mediums are acrylic and watercolor painting. I first became interested in art around age 3, when I started doing arts and crafts activities. I have been hooked ever since. I like to explore as many different mediums of art as I can get my hands on. My favorite technique is I enjoy art because there is no wrong way to create it, even though my art might not appeal to everyone. Art is meant to be free with no boundaries, and that is really inspiring to me. My favorite part of art is exploring different kinds of abstract painting techniques. My favorite is to use acrylic or tempera paint to create abstract shapes with bold colors, then use black paint to create strong lines of separation. Creating my art this way helps to make a strong contrast of colors that grabs and holds people's attention. There isn't always a deliberate meaning behind my art, but that doesn't matter to me. What does matter is the meaning that others can find in it, and how it makes them feel themselves. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my art. I look forward to sharing my passion with you, and hope you find a personal connection through my work.