Local student artists shine at The Art of Discovery exhibit

The “Art of Discovery” exhibit is on display at Upper Lance Hall, Circular Congregational Church. | Photos by Katherine Kiessling
The Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center is one of the exhibit’s sponsors.
Iona Brown and Meghan Donehue from Summerville High School drew technicolor Pop Art sneakers.
Colorful wire flowers weave and bloom through a wired face.
Lilly Morrison, a junior at Ashley Hall School, used clay, glaze and little plastic figurines in a series of 3-D pieces, including “The Maze.”
“COVID Halls” by Summerville High School student Zoey Coleman captures an empty school hallway in ink.
Ashley Hall School senior Jane Goldstein’s “Trapped Octopus” uses plastic, one of the most harmful items polluting oceans.
Whimsical ducks explore individuality in Ashley Hall School junior Ailish Hall’s “The Raft.”
A peek into Ashley Hall School junior Julia Richards’s “Church House” shows how places of worship have been transformed into homes.
A group of Ashley Hall School seventh graders created a collection of brightly colored and intricately patterned “Wavy Bowls.”
Nela Long, an Ashley Hall School seventh grader, created “My Body My Choice” out of papier-mâché.
Ashley Hall School junior Ellerbe Mendez was inspired by a wall in San Miguel de Allende and women reclaiming their roles in religion for “El Muro de Manos en una Tienda.”
Fish escaping from a fishbowl full of sludge represent leaving a toxic environment in “Breaking Free” by Melanie Garcia, an Ashley Hall School senior.
Ashley Hall School seventh grader Aubrey Lee used mixed media for her mask “The Phenomenon of Personal Progress & Growth.”
Fourth and fifth graders from Windsor Hill Art Infused Elementary created self-portraits.
Jewels and feathers adorn a mask made by Belle Raffle, a seventh grader from Ashley Hall School.

From whimsical ceramic ducks floating in pools of blue resin to intimate self-portraits sketched in brightly hued markers, The Art of Discovery Youth Art Exhibit includes more than 100 works from young, local artists. The free exhibit, located in Upper Lance Hall at the Circular Congregational Church, is presented as part of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

The Art of Discovery features art from students in 4th through 12th grade, covering topics as diverse as the mediums on display. The students were inspired by themes that resonated with them: First Baptist High School sophomore Ellie DeLuca’s motion-blur photograph of a skateboarder captures how her anxiety feels; Ashley Hall School seventh grader Nela Long’s papier-mâché bust printed with the phrase “My body, my choice” makes a statement on women’s rights. Other themes explored include the Covid-19 pandemic, the environment, body image and social justice.

Visitors have the opportunity to purchase some of the work on display using Venmo handles listed on the title cards.

The Art of Discovery is an annual program sponsored by the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center and NAMI Charleston. The public can visit daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until June 12.

Katherine Kiessling a graduate student in the Goldring Arts Journalism and Communications Program at Syracuse University.