The Spring Lake Art Showcase was organized by local artists, students and community members to benefit The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment’s education program.
In honor of The Meadows Center 15th anniversary in February, public relations students at Texas State decided the best way to celebrate the facility’s accomplishments, would be an art show featuring contributions from students and the San Marcos community.
More than 100 people attended the event, and it received a gross pay of $708.
The art show featured works from 16 artists, including local Rene Perez and San Marcos gallery-owner Dahlia Woods.
Mary Barton, local artist and Texas State alumna, had a wall of art presented for auction at the show.
“I really am honored to be apart of this showcase. Most of my work is very fluid and abstract and 90 percent of it is water-related,” Barton said. “The river piece that I have is a homage to the Blanco River flood.”
Other displayed artwork included students of the San Marcos Independent School District. The artists included a range of students from kindergarten to high school seniors.
“We have a pretty diverse mix of artists,” said Anna Huff, communications and community relations specialist at the Meadows Center. “We actually have some folks from San Marcos High School, some Texas State artists, but we also have some well-known local community artists.”
The art pieces displayed the artists’ rendition of Spring Lake and were auctioned off at the event. The artists set the starting price for their piece and received half of the sale. The other half of the proceeds will go toward the Meadows Center’s education program.
The Meadows Center’s education program can accommodate up to nine hundred school children in a day, Huff said. The proceeds earned from art and ticket sales will go toward the construction of an outdoor pavilion, which will offer much-needed shade to visiting school kids.
“We’re fundraising for a shaded pavilion for our outdoor area, because right now the only shaded area is really small,” Huff said. “We’d really like to provide students with shade for lunch and activities.”
The jazz band Pleasant Street Quartet and blues singer Adam Johnson performed in addition to contributions from local painters.
Local businesses including Cafe Monet, Mochas and Javas and Root Cellar Café contributed to the event.
“When we teach children how to make art, we try to encourage them to use themes and images that have meaning to them,” Chris Cooper, visual arts department chair at San Marcos high school, said. “The river has a centralized meaning for most of the (kids).”