By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

Marion High School students demonstrated their artistic abilities for Marion Elementary School students Friday at the MES Fine Arts Day.

Along with high schoolers performing forensics routines — monologues, improvised plays, and comedy pieces — advanced art students from Jim Versch’s art class at MHS presented elementary students with artistic keepsakes the young students may treasure.

Briana Hall, Josh Brown, and Logan Maytum operated an airbrush. The trio took turns painting students’ names on small pieces of white cardboard. Josh told Versch before the kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade classes entered the classroom that he still had the airbrushed card a high-schooler gave him when he was in elementary school.

“This means so much to these kids,” Versch said. “It’s strange what you save.”

Versch’s art III students — Jessi Taylor, Sam Stika, and Corey Shields — drew caricatures of students’ faces that the young students could keep. The three advanced art students practiced drawing caricatures Thursday, and had 10 minutes before students started to arrive Friday. Jessi, Sam, and Corey quickly developed their own style — Sam drew close-ups of the left side of a students’ faces for a different perspective — and jumped into the project with little trouble.

“All three of them are enjoying the heck out of this,” Versch said. “These younger grades don’t judge you. By the end of the day, they’ll be pretty good at these.”

Tristen Snelling, Olivia Young, and Victoria Steiner oversaw the final station. The three advanced photography students took photographs of students’ faces that they modified with Photoshop. The photos were projected on a roll-down screen and were later printed for students to keep.

Versch also talked to Tristen before the day began and the MHS senior said the day had a surreal feeling.

“I remember this from when I was in elementary school and now I’m the one doing it,” Tristen said.

Combined with his presence of teaching classes at MES, Versch said fine arts day sparks artistic interest in young students. Like Josh and Tristen when they attended MES, many first graders expressed intentions to take art classes in high school.

“This is a chance to idolize something other than athletics,” Versch said. “The kids will go up to high schoolers and say, ‘I saw you at fine arts day; you airbrushed my name.’”

Special Guest

Peabody Main Street Association Executive Director Shane Marler performed a 20-minute assembly of guitar songs in front of the school at 8:30 a.m. and then played guitar individually for each class.

“If I could choose anything to do, I would play music,” Marler told first-graders.

Along with small samplings of his Gypsy Jazz expertise — Marler just released the album “Tzigane” — Marler also took requests. For the first-grade classes, he played an impromptu song on piano and took requests — including Johnny Cash songs and “Sweet Home Alabama.”

The highlight for four students was a chance to strum Marler’s guitar while he held down strings with his left hand.