March 2025 Artist Reception Student Artists
March 14 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Art Exhibition at the Sonoma Valley Regional Library
Middle School Art Exhibit of Illuminated Letters
The Sonoma Valley Regional Library is hosting an exhibition of paintings by students from Altimira and Adele Harrison Middle Schools in March. The public is invited to meet the artists at a reception on Friday March 14 from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm in the library’s forum room. Light refreshments will be served. The exhibition will be available to view for the entire month of March during opening hours when the forum room is not in use.
Middle School students learned that Illuminated Manuscripts were part of European and Egyptian libraries. Last month, students read about the ancient technique of making pages from vellum, how scribes made their own ink, and learned how they created Illuminated Letters. Students were shown a variety of illuminated pages from different ancient texts.
An Illuminated Manuscript page during medieval times was hand-written and decorated with colored paints as well as actual gold or silver leaf. The word “illuminated” comes from Latin, meaning “to fill with light”. Ancient texts included ornate large initials, favorite objects, and painted borders. When reading a book by candlelight, the flickering of the flame made the pages look illuminated as the candle shimmered on the gold.
Each middle school student was given time to practice drawing their letters as well as several objects that reflect themselves now and in the future. The objects would be incorporated as part of their design. Earlier in the school year, students learned about mixing colors, complementary colors, and utilizing different paint mediums so they could complete a decorative painting in this style.
Their teacher, Cheryl Coldiron, provided vintage paper for their final paintings. Each child drew and colored their letter and their objects, painted the frame around their design, then added gold or silver paint to represent shiny gold or silver leaf, similar to an ancient page of an Illuminated Manuscript.
Ms. Coldiron enjoys creating lessons that combine history and visual arts for the students. This is her 18th year with SVUSD. All of the art supplies for the Illuminated Letters (and all of their visual arts projects) are provided by funding from the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation.
The Middle School Art Exhibit at the library is part of an art series organized by local artist Aparna Sinha with the assistance and support of Cathy Coleman and the Friends of the Sonoma Valley Library.