BIG CYPRESS — Art exhibits aren’t just limited to established artists as students at the Ahfachkee School proved at the opening reception of their art exhibit at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on Jan. 29.

“It’s huge. I was telling the kids earlier it’s something that they can take with them their whole lives and put on their resume, and I was explaining how professional artists often never even have this opportunity,” said Ahfachkee art teacher Jennifer Brittingham.

The visual arts program at Ahfachkee introduces students to different artists and their techniques. For the exhibit, students used the basic elements of arts.

For example, some students used sea sponges to create Impressionist paintings; others decided to pay homage to famous artists like Georgia O’Keeffe and Vincent van Gogh.

Other artwork featured graphite and 3D pieces which were created using 2D objects like a deck of cards, and papier mache was turned into oversized fishes.

The museum annually exhibits art from Ahfachkee. It’s an opportunity for students to showcase their artistic skills and growth to the community and museum visitors.

“There really has been a lot of growth in the kids’ skills and for me seeing some of the kids over and over again and just seeing how they’ve grown its part of what exciting about this,” said Rebecca Fell-Mazeroski, manager of interpretation at the museum. “It’s been phenomenal, and there have been a few kids over the years that have gone off to art school.”

The exhibit will run through May 10.