Trees drawn by second graders will be the centerpiece for a March exhibit at Gather, a Bloomington art gallery and gift shop, according to a press release from Gather.
Talia Halliday, owner of Gather, said in the release that the focus of March’s gallery is youth art. The gallery will include a large painting by a Rogers Elementary School second grade class.
The piece features trees native to southern Indiana forests, which the students have been studying in class and during visits to Sycamore Land Trust, a Bloomington nonprofit that seeks to preserve southern Indiana ecosystems.
“It was so much fun to make these trees with the Creek Cupcakes — a lively bunch of second graders who enjoy telling jokes, singing songs and painting with me,” Halliday said in the release.
The gallery will also display work by Kahlil Pirani, a 7-year-old first grader at Bloomington Montessori School.
Pirani specializes in pencil drawings of tornadoes, houses, farms, tractors, wasps and trains, according to the release.
“His parents noticed his need for detail in his drawings at age 3 when he became obsessed with tornadoes,” Halliday said in the release. “What started out as scribbles ended in elaborate scenes of storms on the horizon.”
Halliday said Kahlil then moved on to drawing John Deere tractors and houses.
His Kindergarten teacher noticed his drawing talent and had him take a drawing lesson with nine- to 12-year-old students, according to the release.
“From this moment on, Kahlil’s drawing took off,” Halliday said.
After the lessons, Halliday said Kahlil began drawing floor plans.
“He has quite the collection of books on floor plans now,” she said.
When Kahlil is not drawing, he plays Minecraft, plays outside and learns about tornadoes. When he grows up, he wants to be a farmer and a storm chaser, Halliday said. But for now, he is an artist.
“Khalil hopes you enjoy his drawings as much as he did creating them,” she said.
Christine Fernando
