Schedule for 2011 Arts Festival

Friday, May 6th

5-7 Reception and Art Show for CSHS and CSMS students

5:30 CSHS Jazz Band performs

6:15 CSHS Drama Group performs

Saturday, May 7th

10-4 Art Show for CSHS and CSMS students

10-4 Face Painting and Bake Sale

2:00 CSHS Choir performs

Cave Spring High School Arts Festival

Friday May 6th, open to public 3:30 to 7. Saturday, May 7th, open 10 to 4. Featuring the artwork of Cave Spring High students as well as Cave Spring Middle School students. Performances by the CSHS Jazz Band and Drama Club. Children's activities like face painting and cookie decorating. Charicatures and food. Check back for a more detailed calendar of events.

Students Create Installation Art

CSHS art students were inspried by the Pae White exhibit "Lisa, Bright and Dark" at the Taubman Museum of Art after a recent field trip. With the help of JMU student teacher, Brian Hammelman, they created bright and dark hanging pieces. Each hanging piece was made of recycled materials and decorative paper.

Event at Taubman

25th Annual Juried High School Art Show

We have 14 students who were accepted into this show at Center in the Square.

CSHS Art Show and Band Concert

Stop by and see the awesome artwork of CSHS students on Monday, May 11 from 5:30-7. The Band Concert follows at 7:00. The Art Show is also during the day on Tuesday, May 12 until 2:00.

Pottery Silent Auction

The CSHS Art Department will hold its annual Pottery Silent Auction during intermission of the CSHS drama production Beauty and the Beast on Saturday, May 9.  The play starts at 7 and the pottery will be on view and available for bidding starting before the production. All bidding ends at the end of intermission. Winning bid items are picked up at the end of the play. Checks and cash accepted.

All the money from the auction goes to CSHS Art Department. The pottery was donated by members of the Blue Ridge Potters Guild who took part in last fall's pottery sale in the CSHS cafeteria.

Email apfeiffer@rcs.k12.va.us for more information.

Roanoke College Children's Choir

Some of our students are part of the Roanoke College Children's Choir, which is presenting their 22nd Annual Spring Concert, Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 3 pm in the Shaftman Performance Hall at the Jefferson Center. Tickets are available on-line at www.jeffcenter.org

CSHS Students and Grads Performing

Some CSHS students and graduates are in bands that are playing at the Penn Forest Worship Center across from CSHS, Friday, March 20 at 6:30.

Scott Blanding to Show His Documentary at the Taubman Museum of Art

Scott Blanding, a Cave Spring High School and Temple University graduate, spent two months in the Congo filming a documentary about the brutality of women caught in the Congolese fighting. His film, Women in War Zones, will show at 7:30 at the Taubman Museum of Art, and the tickets are $5. The tickets are going quickly so you might want to order online. High school students and teachers are invited to a Roundtable where they can meet and talk to Scott before the film. That starts at 5:30 and is free, but you should register with Frank Giannini know if you plan to come. fgiannini@taubmanmuseum.org

Field Trip to the Taubman and Link Museums

Mrs. Pfeiffer's classes spent a day downtown getting tours of the new Taubman Museum of Art and the O. Winston Link Photography Museum. They ate lunch in the Market Station and had a little time to take photos. It was a gorgeous day. Mrs. Carr's class will be doing the same field trip in a few weeks.

Another Potter Amazes Art Students

Steve Mitchell, a local potter who specializes in large pots that are each a piece of fine art visited us in late February. He brought one of his large pots, that was about 3' high and demoed how to build a large pot with separate cylinders. He talked a lot about wood firing, promoting his work and many of the wonderful potters he's met and worked with.

National Art Honor Society Memory Portrait Project

The NAHS club completed 25 portraits of children from orphanages in Myanmar, Kenya, and Uganda last month. Each club member chose a photo of an orphan and the art medium of their choice to render their portrait. Patrons and friends from the Taubman Museum of Art helped to fund this activity through their generous monetary donations. A feature article with lots of photos about the CSHS NAHS chapter can be viewed on the swo-co.com website, and in the Roanoke Times “SWo-CO” publication. Our club has participated in this activity for the last 5 years, creating portraits of orphans from Guatemala, India, Mexico, and Honduras. You can read about this world-wide “children helping children” activity at http://www.thememoryproject.org

CSHS Art Students "Clean Up" at the Regional Scholastic Art Awards

CSHS art students did very well at the Scholastic Art Competitions, winning 8 of the 36 golds, which go on to New York City to be judged at the national level, and 26 of the 74 silver awards, more total awards than any other high school participating in our region. The reception is Monday, 1/26 at the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley, 5-8.

CSHS Show at VWCC Gallery

Past and present Cave Spring High art students were invited to display their work in Virginia Western Community College's Art Gallery this past fall. Senior CVA students juried the entries and hung the exhibit. The crowd at the reception was one of the largest they had seen there and the guest comments were very encouraging. It was quite an honor.

Field Trip to Washington DC

We went to D.C. on the day before elections and expected crowds and rallies. Instead, the city was empty and we almost had the museums to ourselves. One group went to the newly reopened Smithsonian of American Art Museum (Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams), The National Portrait Gallery (Presidential portraits), and the National Gallery of Art (yes, that da Vinci painting is real). Other groups went to the Museum of the American Indian (Fritz Scholder Exhibit make sure you select the Online Exhibition link), the Hirshhorn and Freer/Sackler. We can never see it all. Thanks to Billy in our Photography II class for the photos.

Roanoke's New Art Museum

Several of our students, as well as Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Pfeiffer volunteered for up to 12 hours on the opening day of the new Taubman Museum of Art. It felt like we were at a huge party, especially for those of us that worked at the front doors, greeting the 10,000 visitors. Our jobs were to count attendees (with the clickers), help those who needed wheelchairs and in the galleries themselves. Not only were our local dignitaries present, but even Governor Kaine and the mayor of Wonju were present. Some of the artists whose work was shown traveled far to be here and one of our CSHS graduates who is attending Pratt Institute in New York City came down just to volunteer. Live music and costumed creatures on stilts added to the party atmosphere. Thanks to a generous donation from a CSHS family, our art classes will be able to take a field trip to the museum in early spring.

Potter Demos for 3D Art Students

Rich Moon, our arts supervisor and a potter, came to CSHS last week and demoed on the pottery wheel. The normally boisterous class was quiet and mesmerized and Rich gave away his demo samples to the students who took the best notes. Since Rich's visit they've been working on the wheel, reviewing the copious notes they took and creating some impressive pots. All the students will get a chance on the wheel this semester. Those who enjoy it will have the opportunity to take their skills to higher levels.

CSHS Students Have Formed a Jazz Band Called Commonplace

In Febuary 2008 Ian and Bryan, both guitar players and CSHS students started playing their original jazz compositions together, including a performance in May at Festival in the Park. That night, Ian and Bryan talked to Derrick, a saxophonist and CSHS student, about adding a few tracks on the CD they hoped to record. Ian and Bryan also added vocals. The three jammed at the start of June and played their first show together less than a week later. They began recording, but needed a drummer. Ian called Kyle, a Patrick Henry student that he met on a previous project and Commonplace was formed. The band recorded all summer and played a few shows. Their first album, "I Had a Thought but I can't Prove It", came out September 27th at a CD release show at Doreen's Gourmet, which was so packed that people sat on the floor while some had to watch from the parking lot. The band is now trying to book as many live shows as possible and will soon begin recording a new EP.

Visit Commonplace at www.myspace.com/iwillinc to hear tracks and order the new album and t-shirt both designed by Matt, another CSHS student.

Upcoming events:
Oct. 11, 2008. 12 Noon at the Dominick Tennies Memorial Car Show - Thaxton, VA
Nov. 1, 2008. 6:30pm at The Water Heater - Roanoke, VA
Nov. 22, 2008. 7:30pm at The White Hart - Lynchburg, VA
Dec. 5, 2008. 7:00pm at the Edible Vibe - Rocky Mount, VA
Jan. 9, 2009. 8:00pm at the Third Street Coffeehouse - Roanoke, VA

Former Students Come Back to Talk about College

Justin Yun and Daniel Harris, two of our talented former art students, were visiting artists recently. They discussed the career of animation, which they have studied at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. Daniel has graduated and his specialty is character animation. He is working towards getting a summer paid internship at Pixar. Justin is still at Full Sail and wants to specialize in rigging. Riggers set up the mechanics of the animated characters so that they move realistically, a very challenging job. Both boys are talented enough to have several specialties.

Justin and Daniel were great sports, repeating their presentation complete with images and demos 4 times throughout the day. The next day students asked Mrs. Pfeiffer when they could return.