Submitted photo

Clay student Sara Brocato is one of the many local students who have created artwork to be featured in the “Youthful Visions” exhibit on display in the Portsmouth Public Library’s Local History Department during the month of March.

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Ryan Scott Ottney

PDT Staff Writer

In celebration of Youth Art Month, the Local History Department of the Portsmouth Public Library will once again display “Youthful Visions,” an exhibit of artwork created by Scioto County High School art students.

Opening Friday, the display consists of both 2- and 3-dimensional artwork in a variety of media.

“Basically what we have is two pieces of artwork from each high school and then the students also have made bookmarks that are given out to the library patrons,” said Sharee Price, gifted services coordinator at the South Central Ohio Educational Services Center.

Bookmarks will be distributed in small portions to help them last the entire month of March. Price said one year they had several hundred bookmarks, and they were all gone within a matter of days.

“Initially, I was doing this at Portsmouth High School just with my students, but when I came into this job I brought that with me and opened it up to all the schools. It’s part of what’s called Youth Art Month, which is an Ohio Arts Education Association event that takes place all over the state of Ohio. Different visual artists do different things to try to celebrate our young people making art and learning about that field,” Price said.

Students are presenting their own 2- and 3-dimensional artwork, including sculptures, masks, drawings, paintings, and more. Price said she was thankful to the Portsmouth Public Library for allowing area students to showcase their talents.

“This is one of our favorite displays that we do all year, because we love being able to showcase the talented youth of our county,” said Grace Peach, publicity coordinator for the Portsmouth Public Library.

Students from 10 local school districts are participating in the exhibit, which will be displayed March 1-28 in the Local History Department of the Portsmouth Public Library.

Ryan Scott Ottney can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 287, or rottney@civitasmedia.com.