It is nearing the end of the day on Friday Oct. 25 and the Edwardsville Arts Center is opening up for art and English classes. The white walls are full of bright and exquisite photos and the light from the windows provides the perfect amount of natural sunlight. There is a buzz as students pile in to admire the pieces of work. The ArtEast exhibit proved to be a success.

English teacher Ms. Becky Vinson took her English 1 class to the exhibit so that they could examine the pieces. She instructed them to choose a piece of artwork and write a paragraph describing why they like it. “It’s a good place for creative writing,” Ms. Vinson said.

New to EHS, senior Riah Martin already has his work featured in the Arts Center. His piece is drawn by pencil and titled “Hard to Breathe.” Martin takes Art History and Sculpture at the high school. He hopes to major in Art Education to become a college professor.  Martin really enjoyed the exhibit. “The art is very diverse,” he said.

Freshman Trenton Doles visited the exhibit and found an appreciation for the art. “A lot of it was created by students and it’s amazing that people were creative enough to come up with pieces as beautiful as these,” Doles said.

“It’s just so open,” junior Austin Pizzini said about the space and openness in the arts center. Pizzini is a fan of pastel art and enjoys helping out at his grandma’s art studio in downtown Edwardsville called Pizzini Art Studio.

Senior Kristen Francis takes Sculpture and Ceramics at the high school but mainly enjoys photography. “I really want to do weddings and senior photos,” Francis said. She also enjoys the display of artwork. “I think it’s cool because there are so many different types of art by such a variety of people.”

The Arts Center is divided into two parts; there is a student section with a variety of artwork by EHS students. The remaining areas include artwork from artists in the area. There is also a gift shop in the right corner when you walk in the main entrance. It includes jewelry, accessories and small pieces of art, all of which were made available for sale by various local artists.

The artwork in the gallery and gift shop is for sale and 60 percent of the proceeds will go to the artists with the remaining 40 percent going to the gallery.

Art teacher Ms. Gabrielle Hatton loves how the art is rotated so frequently and is very proud to have the work of her students displayed. “It’s a great accomplishment,” Ms. Hatton said.

ArtEast will be open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Nov. 22.