Visions of peace and fantasy animals -- these are two of the themes explored in this exhibit of paintings and drawings by Tehiyah Day School's fifth grade classes.

At the heart of the exhibit is a series of pastel drawings created on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the terrorist attacks. In an effort to help the students assimilate and cope with the disaster, art teacher Janet Lipkin asked them to depict their visions of peace.

"The terrorist attacks were a shocking and violent opening to the school year," Lipkin said. "We wanted to use art as a way of helping them find some inner peace and hope in the midst of trauma."

More recently, Lipkin guided the students through a "fantasy animal" exercise. Lipkin introduced the students to several well-known artists who have portrayed animals, including painters Joan Brown and Roy DeForest, and photographer William Wegman. Students then selected two to three animals that they identify with, and created self-portraits by combining elements of the different species -- first with pastels on paper, then with acrylics on loose canvas. The results are vibrant and engaging. Also on exhibit are studies of skeletons. The pastel images combine observation drawing -- in which the students draw what they can see -- with expressive colors that evoke emotions, in the tradition of the "fauve/wild beast" movement.

Rounding out the show are representative works by Lipkin and co-teacher Katy Krantz. Included is a series of wall hangings by Lipkin, a noted artist who has exhibited around the country and who was one of the pioneers of the wearable art movement in the late Sixties. Today she works in the field of painting and printmaking, using the body as a metaphor. "These days, I'm sewing on my prints and sequining on my paintings," she said. "I've come full circle." Krantz has likewise exhibited widely, and has been the Artist in Residence at the Richmond Art Center in Richmond, California, and the Art Farm in Marquette, Nebraska.

Special thanks to the fifth grade teachers, Gail Taback and Janet Hurley, for helping to put this exihibit together. For more information, contact Brenda Kahn at 510.817.5773.