Teachers, whānau and friends were the guests of honour at an art show held at Stratford High School last month.
The artists, all students at the school's high dependency unit, had worked hard not just in creating the exhibits, but also preparing a morning tea for all their guests. Abby Zehnder and Diana Yeates were exhibiting some of their work from the mainstream fabric technology class. "I like making things out of material," says Abby, who says her favourite piece to make was a 3D chicken. "It is soft and has bright colours on it."
Diana says she likes the fabric technology class, "because I can choose the fabric and I choose ones that feel nice, then I make things out of it to keep".
Some students have been attending woodwork classes and their work was also on display. A brightly coloured truck, made by Elias Gaudin, was one of the most commented upon items on the day. Elias made the truck for his nephew, and it was greatly admired by visitors to the exhibition who all agreed Elias could make these beautiful toys to sell, as people would be lining up to buy them. Other artwork on display included work that had been previously exhibited at the Percy Thomson Gallery in Stratford. The eye catching paintings were all fantastic, and one young exhibitor, Zac Armistead, had been awarded a highly commended in the Youth Art Show at the gallery.