A must-see exhibit is taking place at the Pembina Hills Arts Council in Morden. A variety of work from grade four students from Maple Leaf and Minnewasta Elementary Schools is on display for community members to enjoy called, "Artful Narratives: A Children's Exhibition."
Minnewasta student Ruby Wiebe wrote a persuasive piece and created a clay likeness of a dog waiting to be adopted by the Pembina Valley Humane Society (PVHS).
"Snap was born September 2023. He loves to play fetch with other people. He loves to watch TV with people because he was watching TV with the foster family. It feels fantastic to put my work up in the art gallery because then people can see my work and then try to adopt the animal."
She said she learned about the foster program through this experience and thinks it's fantastic to see her artwork on display. She hopes Snap finds a home because of it.
PVHS Shelter Manager Jennifer Young was at the reception last week, Wednesday, to see the art for herself.
"You have no idea how big my heart swelled when I first saw the examples of the writing, when it was emailed to me. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, we need these kids doing our write ups all the time.'"
Sarah Duerksen described the animal she hopes finds a new home.
"I pick Freya ‘cause she's been there (PVHS) the longest. She's a Husky mix and she has two different colors of eyes. She has black on her ears and she's a dog. She has black on her body, and her legs are white, and her chest is white. Her nose is also white."
Keira Hofer enjoyed making her cat, Winslow's clay project. She said he's been there a while, and she really likes that he has a heart on his side.
She described the creative process.
"We had to use this air-dried clay stuff, we had to sculpture it, so we had to use some water, used a paintbrush to smooth it. You could use a toothpick for your head to keep it on. And then, we had to wait a few days to let it dry, and after the few days, we had to paint it."
Young was thrilled to see all the animals featured in the exhibit.
"I was talking with the teacher with Rhonda (Thomson), she said it turned into a bigger and better experience and project than she ever thought it would be, and we will continue to do this year after year."
Some of the work will be duplicated and added to the walls at PVHS so people there can also see the students' hard work.
Students from Maple Leaf Elementary worked on the Indigenous Seven Teachings, featuring different animals. Each group worked on a separate piece of the seven different animals and their meanings, putting them together only once the work was completed.
Natalia Klassen said her part was to work on the lettering.
When all the pieces from each group were put together, she said she was happy and excited.
She shared her feelings on seeing the work on display for the community to enjoy.
"I think they looked really good, and I liked to see it on the art gallery wall."
Laura Dos Santos Leite explained which animals had which meanings.
"Each animal represents something: The eagle represents love, the turtle represents truth, the buffalo is respect, bear is courage, sabe (Sasquatch) is honesty, beaver is wisdom, and wolf is humility."
She said it was "super beautiful" to see all the work she and her grade four classmates put together.
Eva Taloshna worked on the yeti (Sasquatch) and the beaver. She explained what the project taught her.
"To take your time and not hurry, and a little bit about the animals, and that how our art goes together."
She added her thoughts on seeing it all come together. "It just made us feel like all the classrooms combined and that we're all friends."
The Artful Narratives Exhibit is on display at Morden's Pembina Hills Arts Council in the clocktower building until March 2nd.
Other work were hearts, seasons, masks and an EAL project done by newcomer students pictured below.