A variety of art lovers: kids, parents, grandparents, teachers all make their way downstairs to the big gallery. The 2025 Student Art Show opened at River Falls Public Library on Saturday, April 12 and will run till May 10. It brings together a considerable amount of K-12 talent from River Falls area schools including Greenwood, Rocky Branch, Westside Elementary, Montessori, St. Bridget Parish School, River Falls Area High School and Meyer Middle School.

It is clearly one of the favorite exhibits in River Falls because of the amount of time, love, talent and inspiration poured into it. Special thanks to the artists, parents, teachers and library personnel who made this event happen. The gallery visitors walking through usually have somebody’s painting as a destination, but along the way there’s a watercolor landscape by your brother’s friend, your cousin’s scary bust sculpture, or your neighbor’s tie-dyed T-shirt, and all the art is exceptional. There is so much to see and the fact is you might need to come back a second or third time to take it all in.

The exhibit shows young artists learning about technical things like two- point perspective, monochromatic painting, shared values, close-up painting, negative space, not to mention landscapes, pastels, charcoals, ink drawings, collagraph prints, dyed T-shirts, string art, mosaics, weaving, papier-mâché, torn paper collage, and burlap weaving.

A centerpiece for the exhibit is called Monet’s Lily Pads. The Magical Garden of Claud Monet by Lawerence Anholt. I googled this and found that the first graders at Greenwood Elementary were working off a book by Lawerence Anholt. The young artists have sculpted clay lily pads using slab and pinch methods then painted a paper mural around it emulating Monet’s colors and brush strokes.

You will find a special wall for Y.A.M. (Youth Art Month), an annual observance to emphasize the value of art and art education to all children. Several artists who have won regional and state awards are featured on the YAM wall.

Some of the works have titles that carry the artwork like: One black dot can be an Alien Doctor! While other titles take the artist to contemplation like: Van Gogh’s Cat by Kingsley Wirth or Evie Kiating’s Gratitude Stick. The soap carvings by the 11th grade artists are remarkably well crafted and smell terrific.

Along the window side of the gallery are the hand-sewn “Ugly Dolls.” They are not a bit ugly. They are colorful and a magnet for kids visiting the gallery. “Can I show you my favorite?” they ask.

The photos really show off the exuberance of the art show. The “hey look Mom, this one’s mine” moments are off the charts.

The book, The Magic Garden of Claude Monet is a great read and is available at River Falls Public Library.