Palmer High students display their work at annual IB art show

A variety of artistic mediums were on display as nearly two-dozen students participated in Palmer High School’s International Baccalaureate Art Show Friday evening.

Palmer senior Aidan Houser’s work, recycled clothing was enclosed in glass, next to the art classroom in the upper commons area of the school.

“I have a whole collection of recycled clothing,” Houser said as he pointed to his examples. “A lot of it I’ve sold to other people, or gave away.”

Houser said he’s looked at gear worn by soccer and tennis teams, and used items he’s found at second-hand stores, such as long-sleeve shirts, and worked to replicate the look.

He said the idea is reusing, giving a piece of clothing a new look or new life, rather than buying something newly manufactured. It’s a small impact he said, but something that can make a difference.

It’s something Houser hopes to spin into a career.

“I’m going to college to study art and hopefully make my own clothes,” Houser said. “I’ve been selling clothes, making clothes for the past year.”

Another Palmer senior, Miriam Feldman, created a handmade dress with hot glue and material that was on display on a mannequin for visitors to see Friday night. The project was inspired by her interests in gaming and cyber art.

“I’m a huge fan of a video game called ‘Scorn’,” she said. “It’s inspired by HR Giger’s cyber art. It depicts a nightmarish biomechanical world. I have a story world I am working on that;s kind of similar. I wanted to make something cool based on that.”

That’s where the inspiration for the dress was born.

Feldman, who has been a part of Palmer’s arts program for the past three years plans to study astrophysics at UAF in the fall.

Veronica Jimenez is a senior and in her first year in IB art.

“I really like drawing, expressing my creativity,” she said as several examples of her art was on display. “I really wanted to experiment with things, like mediums and such.”

Palmer art teacher Anna Folsom said there are 22 IB art students this year, the largest group she’s seen in the last three years. The annual exhibit represents about 40 percent of their score for the program.

The IB is a two-year academic program that offers students the opportunity to obtain an international/national diploma in addition to their Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District high school diploma.

Past IB students have used their diplomas to earn college credit, qualify for scholarships, gain a competitive edge in competitive college edge by learning skills that correspond to higher success rates not only in college, but the work force.

The IB program is open to current 10th grade students, and offers rigorous courses that not only prepares students for the rigor of college education, but also grows their skills in critical thinking and thinking across subjects. IB Diploma Candidates follow a rigorous academic pathway across six different subjects while also engaging in a variety of extracurricular activities and objectives, and allowing students to participate and enjoy a traditional high school experience.

“There’s a fit in the IB program for a lot of different avenues,” Folsom said.

For art, Folsom said each artist chooses their own medium, but they have to represent 2D, 3D and screen-based mediums.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com. Frontiersman reporter Katie Stavick contributed to this report.