The Lamorinda Arts Council (Council) presents K-8 student artwork from Orinda and Moraga schools as part of the Arts Ambassadors (AA) exhibit in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during February. Orinda student artwork is on display Feb. 1 through 15; Moraga student artwork is on display Feb. 15 – 28. 

Due to COVID-19, there will not be a public reception to award AA ribbons. Rather, David Wilson, art educator at Del Rey Elementary in Orinda will award ribbons to students who have submitted artwork in the gallery in their school classrooms. In Moraga, visual arts educator Moose Wesler will do the same for K-8 students in their school classrooms. To learn more about AA 2022 go to www.lamorindaarts.org/student-exhibits/.

Wilson, an art educator at Del Rey Elementary School, is the organizer of K-8 Orinda student artwork submitted for the 2022 AA exhibit. He said, “The art teachers in Orinda are thrilled to have students’ work up in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library February 1 – 15. It has been a challenging few years for our students, families and staff. Art has been a beautiful refuge for our students. As art teachers we have been moved and delighted by the creativity and joy that our young artists have brought to their work in our classes. We are amazed and moved by what they have created.” He, like Wesler, has a long history of supporting the display of the AA program.

Wesler, an art educator from Moraga, teaches visual arts including animation and video. She not only organized the artwork from K-8 Moraga students, but is a longtime supporter of the Council’s AA program.  Wesler also teaches printmaking at the Center for Community Arts in Walnut Creek and has exhibited her prints in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library.  Wesler said, “I think that these years of COVID have shown us how important art is to people. Folks in lockdown hungered for movie theatres and plays and museum visits. Teaching art online, as I did, was a release for many of my students. They were able to use the time to create in a relaxed atmosphere, away from the ongoing stresses. My admiration for the creativity of children continues; and each assignment brings out the individuality of every student. That’s what I love to see.”

AA 2022 is a colorful way to provide the public with an overview of the visual arts programs in Orinda and Moraga schools. When K-8 students accept their AA ribbons their smiles are sure to warm the heart of anyone present. AA began in 2006 and has been through many iterations. Safe to say it has been encouraged, expanded and supported by organizations such as the former Educational Foundation of Orinda, Lafayette Partners in Education, Moraga Education Foundation, local parents, school districts, art educators and students as well as the Council.

The Council thanks Wilson and Wesler for their dedication to keeping art alive for young artists, especially during COVID, and invites the public to stop by to view the wildly creative and colorful student artwork on display during February.

To learn more about the Council go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs Feb. 1 through 28 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library is closed all day Mon. Feb. 21. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.