BIDDEFORD — It’s been said that art enables us to find ourselves and yet lose ourselves at the same time and for hundreds of Biddeford students that adage becomes reality this evening as the very best of their artwork will be on display during the Biddeford Student Art Show at Biddeford Middle School.

The show features more than 2,000 pieces of student art in just about every imaginable medium, ranging from sculpture to papier-mâché to weaving to acrylic painting. The show is held every other year and excitement has heightened among students and their families as the collection has been amassed at the middle school for the show.

Sixth-grader Parker Werner said she loves her art class at the middle school because it has allowed her to express her creativity in unique ways.

“We draw and use clay and paint and I would be really upset if we didn’t have art class at our school,” she said.

Biddeford schools employ six art teachers throughout the district and the subject remains an important part of school curriculum, said Liz Ames, who teaches 3-D art and design at Biddeford Middle School.

“My students use a variety of tools and techniques to explore art and artists and their contributions to society,” Ames said. “The Art Show showcases all of our talented students in the Biddeford School System. There’s art in everything and it all starts right here in our classrooms.”

Ames said that creating art gives her students dexterity, skill, inspiration and enhances hand-eye coordination all while helping them develop concentration, which also can be applied to academic subjects.

Student volunteers and art teachers spent weeks mounting artwork and much of the past two days gathering it for display and placement in the show.

Mara Busse, a Biddeford High School junior, helped set up art show displays on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for the show.

“I have a couple of pieces of mine in this show and I’m grateful to have this opportunity to show what I’ve created,” Busse said. “For me art class is a break from everything else when I’m at school. It really takes me to another place.”

Art on display during the event showcases student talent in printmaking, watercolors, pop art, still life, drawing from observation, along with acrylics, paper mâché, relief sculpture, weaving, clay and mixed media. Every classroom that uses art will be represented, all the way from Kindergarten students to high school seniors.

Ames said that some of the most outstanding artwork will be singled out for special recognition by a panel of judges that includes Biddeford Schools Superintendent Jeremy Ray, former State Rep. Marty Grohman and Donise McGinn, a retired art teacher.

The show will also highlight some exceptional student art weavings which are hanging in the main school hallway at Biddeford Middle School. The 3-D creations used recycled materials and their color choices depict the Saco River.

Jaylah Trottier, a sixth-grader, said she loves working with clay and making papier-mâché animals in her art class this year.

One of her latest creations, a brightly colored coffee mug, will be a part of the art show.

“I decided to make a mug because it’s something you can always use,” she said. “The mug is orange with blue droplets and is gray on the inside.”

Trottier said she’s proud to have her mug exhibited during the art show, but has plans for it when the show ends.

“It’s going to be a gift, but I can’t say just yet who it’s going to because it would spoil the surprise,” she said.

The Biddeford Art Show 2019 will be open from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and then from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Biddeford Middle School. Admission is free.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com