This year’s “Future Makers” gallery is featuring artwork by Mesquite ISD High School AP art students.

Marking eighteen years of hosting the exhibition, Eastfield’s Gallery 219 is proud to continue fostering the goals and celebrating the achievements of Mesquite ISD students studying the visual arts. Because of COVID-19, the exhibit will be presented virtually and hosted by The Et Cetera March 8 – May 7, 2021.

Artwork by students in advanced placement art courses at John Horn High School, Mesquite High School, North Mesquite High School, Poteet High School, and West Mesquite High School will be on view. The exhibition, featuring a variety of media and techniques, demonstrates the excellence of the Fine Arts program at Mesquite ISD and the talent of their students.  Recognizing the outstanding work of these students, Mesquite ISD Fine Arts has partnered with sponsors Whataburger of Mesquite, Inc. and Chick-fil-A RLC of Mesquite & Forney to provide awards to students selected by an independent juror

About our juror: Erica Stephens is an interdisciplinary artist with an active studio practice who works with a focus on painting, as well as an author who published her first collection of poetry in early 2020. Her work strikes a balance between the political and the personal and is often unapologetically sentimental. Erica is full-time faculty in art appreciation at Dallas College. 

Juror Statement regarding the winners

“I was moved by how poignant, timely, and sophisticated much of the work in this show is. While responding to the events of today was not a prerequisite of the exhibition, it is my experience that great art often reflects the time, place, and circumstances that surround the artist who creates the work. I saw this reflected in much of the work that is included in this exhibition.

Ana Campos’ graphite drawing “Sacrificio” showcases a technical mastery of a medium in such a way as to bridge the content and context of the work; the contrast of the gestural smearing and erasure of the right side of the figure as compared to the expertly rendered left side of the figure captures the sense of loss that many have experienced in the past year. The suggestion of sacrifice in the title is seemingly two-fold as well, as we wonder whether the sacrifice spoken of is an act of selfless giving or one of being taken.

The acrylic painting “Platos Tradicionales” by Tammy Resendiz showcases an abundance of culturally traditional foods so magnificent that the edges of the picture plane cannot contain it.  The work is rendered in a flat and illustrative style that is approachable, nostalgic, and fun. The artist goes so far as to include two smiling faces in the work, the first on the packaging of a pantry essential and the second on a cookie that has had a bite taken from it. These two smiling images speak to the joy of this food and by extension the joy of gathering with those who would come together to enjoy such a feast. In a year in which we were instructed not to gather around such tables, this work seems to show great love for traditions that may have been temporarily lost, but that one hopes may soon be enjoyed once more.

Rebecca Welsh follows a rich tradition in art of utilizing humor and absurdity to speak to complex issues in the stoneware work “Nuclear Toad.” The simultaneously charming and perplexing figure of a three-headed toad bearing three different expressions is uncanny. It is familiar in that we have seen the existence of similar three-headed creatures in mythology and folktales before, usually in the role of gatekeepers or protectors of something precious. But what is to be made of the non-threatening nature of a toad? With the addition of a nuclear bomb in one of its three mouths, this figure suggests that it may not be a gatekeeper at all, but a harbinger of something of our own making we would not want to discover.

I would like to commend all of the artists who submitted work for this year’s MISD FutureMakers exhibition. It was my great honor to be asked to juror this show and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. I have no doubt that we will!”

Selected Winners

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Full Gallery

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-information compiled and written by Iris Bechtol, Gallery Manager

–Editor’s note: Due to the pandemic and campus closures, The Et Cetera is hosting virtual art galleries for our campus so that students, their parents and the community can still see and celebrate student work.