During our most recent M'Art'Ch Madness Competition, the Arts for Life Utah team viewed over 60 student-made art works. Due to the nature of the competition, not every entry could be submitted to the bracket. However, we want to feature more of our favorites that you may not have seen yet. Read below to find more student entries with their corresponding artist statements! Eva Groeschl: Buds: I have a deep connection with flowers. My best friend, Brandi Clark, has a deep connection with me. Therefore, she has a deep connection with flowers. All flowers have meanings. They can be different f ..read more

With over 60 submissions during this year's competition, the Arts for Life Utah team was privileged to view fantastic creativity on behalf of students of all ages. Although not every student who submitted won a prize, we want to feature more of our favorite works from this year's pool of submissions. Read below to get to know some of our student submitters and their artist statements. Emma Lewis: This is a poem of two people who were mad at each other and thought the other person did it, but through the fire they find love and create a connection. What I love about this poem is that you ca ..read more

In the recent M’Art’Ch Madness bracket hosted on our Instagram (@artsforlifeutah), Ainslee Nylund’s work titled “Interlocked '' was selected as the winner!  Ainslee is a 17-year-old Junior attending Lehi High School. Arts for Life Utah interviewed Ainslee to learn more about her and her artistic process. Read the interview below.  Get to know Ainslee and “Interlocked” My name is Ainslee Nylund and I was born and raised in Lehi, Utah. I enjoy traveling and exploring new areas around the country. I love training German shepherds and learning ASL. Art has always been a big part of ..read more

Kate Watson shares her passion for choice-based teaching Reid Harris works to get the shape of his holiday bulbs in Ms. Watson's art room at Harvest Elementary. Kate Watson's K-6th grade art room at Harvest Elementary is full of activity and imagination. One of her 6th-grade students, Reid Harris, created an artwork of holiday bulbs that was selected as the holiday card for Alpine School District. He describes his process, "Ms. Watson did a demo of bulbs, so I decided to do it." When asked about how she engages such a broad age range of elementary kids in art, Kate replied: "I am very passio ..read more

KaleiMae Hunt is a 6th grader at Hunter Elementary School. Her submission to the Granite School District Cesar Chavez Social Justice Art Competition “Building Bridges of Peace” is a sculpture made of popsicle sticks. Though her work is finely crafted and evocative of the competition theme, her written artist statement stole my breath: “A bridge connects two lone parts over a river or fast-moving water. Peace is formed by overcoming that barrier in life, between two people or groups. This could be forgiveness in a relationship, a crossing over to accept a different opinion, and finding common ..read more

Bennion Junior High’s performance of Matilda was full of emotions, drama, and excitement. Standing in the dark auditorium to photograph the dress rehearsal, I felt their performative energy wrap around me. The atmosphere was so busy, I filled my mind with notes. Witnessing this play with these junior high students made my first time seeing it even more delightful. Ms Phillips occasionally stopped the rehearsal to make a few directors’ notes, but the kids knew it was game time and the show went off without too many adjustments. After it was over and as the students realized that this was a la ..read more

A 40-year Reunion & A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Reflections on Transformation My square dancing partner from 4th grade, Lance Atkinson, had invited as many cast members as possible from the 1981 Delta High School production of Midsummer's Night Dream to meet for a reunion at the Shakespeare Festival. Cedar City’s Sizzler restaurant in Utah was our gathering place for dinner. My husband and I waited eagerly to see some familiar faces. Soon we saw a few friends come through the door. Georgia and Norman embraced in an extended hug. Brothers Russ and Rick extended big smiles and warm hugs. Was ..read more

Submitted by Danielle Petersen, Yoga & Movement teacher at Viewmont High School on behalf of UDEO Shyann Everett, a senior at Viewmont High School, shares this reflection on a recent collaborative performance for the Davis County School Board: "Performing in front of the school board was an enriching opportunity. As a group, we collectively used the dance elements (Body, Energy, Space, and Time) to generate original movement. This was a collaborative project between Viewmont Dance Company, Alli Ball – who is a Viewmont dance alumni, and Noah Ashworth – a talented local musician. We explor ..read more

The snow was falling fast as I entered the parking lot of Woods Cross Elementary. The frosty atmosphere hung white and soft, like a giant pillow that had exploded overhead, the contents falling in a feathery manner. I felt the snow kiss my face as I gathered my gear from the back of my car. A single flake stuck to my eyelash for a second as I tiptoed through the slush into the school. Holding the door open on escape, a student looked up at me as I crept inside. The familiar scent of sweaty bodies mixed with the aroma of a typical school day, reminded me of one of the days when I was an element ..read more

by Lisa Gemperline Level up: the show theme for the 2021 marching band season when the band moved up to the 6A classification. Were they ready? Were they capable of such a winning record when they were coming in as the “new kid” in town? How could they compete with so many seniors now graduated and so many rookies from 9th grade? The feelings were thick in the air with anticipation, angst, and nervous chatter. Being two-time, back-to-back 5A State Champions added to the pressure to perform on a new level. Winning bands are the stuff of leveling up: leveling up the difficulty of the marching b ..read more