Young artists of American Canyon recognized at festival
For many American Canyon teens, arts are a refuge.
Itzel Trujillo, a senior at American Canyon High School, spends most lunches in Ms. T’s art room, finding a moment of peace during the school day to draw and eat. “It feels like such a safe space,” she said.
She wasn’t drawn to art until a friend suggested it. “You know what, I like doodling. I’ll give it a shot,” she remembers thinking. Now, she’s an avid painter. Trujillo has some health issues she’s been dealing with, and having a creative outlet has been invaluable.
“They never leave the room!” laughed art teacher Michelle Thompson, aka Ms. T. According to Thomspon, all arts and music teachers keep their classrooms open to students during lunch.
Last Saturday, Trujillo was one of dozens of ACHS students and their teachers from the art, ceramics and choir departments for the annual ACHS Arts and Music Fest, hosted by the American Canyon Chamber of Commerce and American Canyon Arts Foundation at RD Winery, just on the northern edge of the city.
Nearly 100 locals, students and families gathered in the shade of cherry blossom trees to watch performances from Public Displays of A Capella, a spinoff of the famous ACHS choir, directed by music teacher Jamie Butler, who has been an integral part of the school district’s music programming since the school opened in 2010.
Inside, RD’s tasting room was packed with art — rows of student photos, paintings and ceramics alongside tables of goods, which were part of the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration. Festival goers milled around sipping wine and picking out sauces by Stateline Road Smokehouse, chocolate bars from Vintage Sweet Shoppe, candles by Bougie Napa and prints by the Jessel Gallery.
“It was ridiculously successful,” said Arts Foundation President Karen Brorby.
“The fest came about from an idea from youth Arts Foundation board member Ethan Sabee, from ACHS,” said foundation Vice President Clarence Mamaril. Sabee had noticed that most of the artists highlighted in foundation events skewed older. Board members agreed: It was time to make a space for the local high schoolers to showcase their talents outside of school.
For the last few years, the event has been held at the high school or the DoubleTree hotel. This year, they partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to expand the event and bring it outdoors, a real boost for everyone, according to organizers.
“It’s a really big success,” said Mamaril.
An awards ceremony after performances doled out first, second and third place certificates and checks to students in the various art categories. A small area in the courtyard set up as a band stage became an open mic for all singers, pianists and guitarists to pick up an instrument and play.
The checks can be a big help for students pooling resources to fund activities like field trips and travel for competitions. Multiple sources have told the Current that, unlike sports programs, which get financial support from the district, all extracurricular programming for things like painting class, choir and marching band has to be self-funded.
Krishna Montecalvo, a junior and choir singer, is also a guitarist. She began playing a 7-string at 10 years old in the Philippines, shortly before her family moved to American Canyon. When she got to high school, she joined choir, where Jamie Butler encouraged her to tap into her confidence as a performer.
“I was holding my courage to myself,” Montecalvo said, and she had to build up to performing. Now, she said, choir is the best part of school. At the open mic, she stood up to perform a rendition of Coldplay’s “Sparks.” Her favorite artist these days? Neo-soul singer Olivia Dean.
“Students need a space they can go into to just breathe,” said art teacher Michelle Thompson, who also goes by Chelle. Every program at ACHS has its own draw for high schoolers, she said.
“They can be quirky and fun with [theater director] Ms. Summer Heartt and it’s OK; If they want to sing and dance, they can hang out with Mr. Jamie Butler.”
On top of that, if they want to get hands on, they can do ceramics with Mr. Adam Musto; if they want to learn instruments, they can join the band or color guard with Mr. Brendan Day; if they like snapping photos, they can take photography with Ms. Jenifer Leahy.
A scenic artist for production companies in Los Angeles, Thompson is making an effort to bridge the wide gap between working artists she knows and ACHS students, with plans to host more guest lessons taught by people she knows from the industry. This year, she and her students are looking to raise $15,000 for a trip to Italy through a Sip and Paint event on April 11.
“A lot of people have this idea that fine arts won’t get you anywhere in the world,” said Thompson. “But this is California — fine arts is the main economy.”
