Lining the halls of Bedford, filling the school with color, are more than 3,000 pieces of carefully placed art for the annual Art Show that took place on May 16.

These are the drawings, sculptures, paintings and other projects which students have worked on throughout the school year. BMS artists have experimented with color schemes, painting realistically, creating representational sculptures and many other techniques. Bedford wraps up the curriculum with an art show to honor all of the hard work students have put into their pieces this year.

When the students and family members arrived at the art show they walked through the art-covered hallways admiring the artwork and the Comic Book Club’s finished work. They also enjoyed the food provided by the PTA, watched the jazz band, wind ensemble and chamber orchestra play and listened to a Camerata concert in the library.

Each grade focused on different units throughout the year and shared their favorite projects of the year.

Sixth graders focused on portraiture. Some looked at Alexander Calder’s sculptures to create their own sculptures, which hung on the ceiling throughout the auditorium hallway. Others designed magazine covers featuring their self portraits and the remainder created continuous line cut-outs and drawing.

Sixth grader Dylan Rhoads enjoyed making still-life drawings. “I like my still-life drawing,” she said because she described it as more “realistic.” However, her favorite project she saw in the show were the sketches of animals scratched out on black pieces of paper. “I liked those pieces because they showed technique and were very detailed. I think that every piece in the Art Show is great, though,” Dylan said.

While sixth grade focused on portraiture, the seventh grade focused on Picasso inspired sculptures. The seventh grade re-interpreted these sculptures, transforming them into cubist paintings. Mrs. Lynne Karmen, art teacher to sixth, seventh and eighth graders explained, “They explored different textures, using metallic pencil and scratch art.”

As for eighth grade, their projects focused on the messages contemporary artists communicate through their artwork. In groups, they created mixed-media sculptures that represented their views of the world around them.

One of the eighth grade project favorites this year was printmaking. Students chose one of the printmaking designs from different newspaper clippings, copied it onto a block and then carved it. The process took about one and half months to complete. Printmaking, according to Mrs. Karmen, “focused on line and texture and a very strict method of art-making.”

“I learned about a whole new style of art,” Eighth grader Terry Brannigan said. “[Printmaking] was definitely my favorite project we did this year.”

Mrs. Karmen summed up the success of the annual event, “Our art show celebrates a year of artistic growth and experimentation.”