Shown are the Wawasee art students whose work will be on display at Hacienda, Tuesday, April 16.
In the front are Justine Martinez, left, and Rylin Vanlaningham.
In the back are from left Corissa Knepper, Olivia Woolwine, Tobias Pressler, Clarissa Brandt and Maddison Naragon. Photo by Lynk Klinefelter.

News Release

SYRACUSE — For one night only, 13 art-surfaced mosaic guitars in a spectrum of monochromatic colors created by Wawasee art students can be seen “On the Brick,” at the Hacienda, 3805 Lake City Highway, Warsaw.

The exhibit will be on display from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 16.

Come out and vote! Five of these guitars will be gifted back to Hacienda to hang on the walls for the community enjoyment bringing color, artistry, intrigue and conversation to a public gathering place. The one day special exhibit is prompted by the art department mission to “give back” to community.

The guitar painting is an annual event, and this year the class was looking for a “receiving end” within the community for the guitars to be seen both inside and outside of school. Ziebarth had noticed the Warsaw Hacienda had two old guitars on display so she knew the theme of instruments as wall hung art was already in favor there.

“I teach the kids here that part of the creativity is not just the end product of what is created on paper or with art materials… creativity is also creative thinking,” Ziebarth said. “I say ‘if you have an idea in your head; if it’s a ‘gooooood’ idea… get it out of your head. Make things possible by communicating your idea!’ So in this case, I had to model the mantra I have spoken.”

Ziebarth approached Hacienda management about the idea of elevating student talent and give-back to community. “Compliments to Hacienda, they were all smiles, went through the proper channels to gain approval and embraced the idea with open arms,” Ziebarth said.

“A lifelong habit of reaching back into our world starts where we are with what we have,” commented Christi Ziebarth, art instructor. “Time, talent and treasure are three ways to give. It’s a win-win! Students have talent. Hacienda is delighted to receive bright guitars matching festive decor and students are excited to the moon and back to exhibit their art in such a fun public place!”

After yearlong collections of donated old or broken guitars, painting instruments in the spring has become a fresh tradition in the art department. Integration of music and visual arts opens wide the door or both to co-exist. “Creative kids are often multi-talented with a broad range of creative interests,” Zeibarth said.

“This project was an interesting challenge to me. Being able to work with something that could have no purpose and giving it one is fantastic,” said Tobi Pressler, senior. “The challenge really lied in working with a 3D object. Its a completely different field than using the mosaic technique on a flat surface.”

“Community projects like this free them from having to choose. A love of music and a love of art can be the best of friends. And, like theater, art needs a stage for the public to see. The beautiful brick and plaster walls of Hacienda has provided exactly this,” Ziebarth said.

“Creating the guitars is a very fun experience,” said Justine Martinez, senior. “Looking at them you may think ‘oh it seems easy to make some of these, but it’s a long process to get things the way you want and get the pieces laying down the way you want them. I had to rip mine off and redo them so many times because I was not satisfied with the way they came out, but in the end the long process of ripping and redoing was worth it.”

“The process was crazy tedious but I’ve come to really enjoy it, taking the time out of my day to create unique pieces was really awesome and I can’t wait to see what becomes of the program,” said Olivia Woolwine, senior.

Olivia Woolwine, a senior at Wawasee High School, created four mosiac-surfaced guitars and already received and sold two to members of the community. She is shown here with one of her customers. Photo by Lynk Klinefelter.

Mention Wawasee High School Art Department while at Hacienda on April 16 and 20% of your receipt will support the new Chartreuse Talent Student Gallery. Guitars will also be available for purchase or custom-color commissions with 100% profits returning to students through the Chartreuse Talent Student Gallery.

More information and the official 20% Give-Back token ticket can be found on Facebook at Wawasee Student Art Gallery with more information on the new student gallery at spinmosaic.com.

Those interested in a commissioned piece should contact Ziebarth at [email protected] for price points. All interested clients are directed to the Sherman Williams website where every Pantone color imaginable is listed. Choose the desired color and it will be matched exactly.