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Education » Judge Memorial hosts Alumni and Student Art Show.

Judge Memorial Catholic High School students, past and present, will come together Thursday to show their art to family, friends and long-lost classmates at the school's second annual Alumni and Student Art Show.
A surrealist rendering of a butternut squash, a close-up photo of a human eyeball, and a photo shot on vacation in Sorrento, Italy, will all be on display tonight at Evergreen Framing Co. & Gallery, 3295 S. 2000 East Suite A, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibit will be open throughout the weekend during regular business hours.
Some of the contributors are professional artists. Most aren't.
"The majority just do it as a hobby and were excited to be able to display and showcase their art with the possibly to sell," said Rachel Kelly, Judge's director of special events and alumni relations. "We have so many great artists."
More than 30 artists will show their photography, ceramics, paintings, collages and other handiwork as the school's jazz quartet sets the mood. The oldest of the artists graduated from Judge in 1964, and submissions came from as far away as Los Angeles.
"This is actually the first time I've ever entered something into an art show," said current Judge junior James McDonough, a varsity football player. "I think I'm still kind of a new artist per se. I'm kind of nervous because I've never done it before. It'll be exciting."
McDonough's photo, which documents a trip to Italy, will be for sale, and the teen plans to donate half of any proceeds to Judge. Fellow junior Sydney Richards is also new to the art-show world. She's interested to see people's reactions to her photo of a fellow Judge student's eye.
"I just hope people like it," she said.
Richards is taking her first-ever photography class at Judge this year, and she's fallen in love with capturing images of the world around her.
"I just like that you can express yourself in a way different than talking about what your feelings are," she said. "You can capture anything you want to. It's really unique some of the photos you can get."
Like Richards, alumnus Nick Frappier's love of art was nurtured at Judge.
"In high school, I thought I was going into biophysics," said Frappier, an art show contributor and current University of Utah student who graduated from Judge in 2006.
Frappier decided to major in art instead of biophysics in part because of Judge art teacher Tom Bettin's influence.
"I still keep in touch with him," Frappier said. "This show seemed like something fun to do."
Frappier, who graduates from the U. in two weeks, will show his drawing of a butternut squash.
"The squash itself is sitting on the edge of the drawing," he said. "It's something mundane drawn differently."
Kelly said she hopes the Alumni and Student Art Show becomes a tradition, and that the Judge community will come out of the woodwork to show their butternut squashes and other creations in future years.