By LAURA BROOKHART / Community Columnist

A precisely rendered, enlarged scale rendition with nuanced shading of the ever-expressive face of jazz musician Louis Armstrong was one of the selected student art works displayed at University of Montevallo Student Art Show in early March.

Its creator, Julia Stith, a 10^th grader at HHS, is a young woman with a keenly developed eye for interpreting that which speaks to her, be it visual or musical.

“I love jazz from that era,” Stith said. “What A Wonderful World and La Vie en Rose are two of my favorite of his songs.”

For Stith, drawing is fun and relaxing.

“I like to be very detailed and in control,” she explained. “I enjoy pencil shading and often find myself transported into the zone as I work.”

Another work for the student show was Stith’s pencil interpretation of teacher Sky Johnson’s photograph of a young woman emerging from a lake baptism.

Stith, the fifth of six children, was homeschooled until the fourth grade. She credits both parents for supporting her art and musical interests. Father, Jeff Stith, is the worship and music pastor at Canaan Baptist Church.

Her mother, Kristie, recalls reading stories aloud to her children, during which time they would all draw or paint. Kristie Stith currently teaches art at Calera Intermediate and Elvin Hill Elementary.

Stith is also a member of her school choir and participates in the HHS Theater program.

She was in the cast of “Arsenic and Old Lace” and at the recent State Trumbauer competition placed third in Novice Comedic category, performing a scene from The Importance of Being Earnest.

Portraits were an initial project of Art I students under Ms. Margaret Blankenship and she challenged them to draw in large scale.

In the hall display other student works were on view. AP Studio Art 12^th grader Julienne Smith is represented by an intriguing composition that weaves together waves, floral images and a carp.

Also there is an eye-catching representational 3-D landscape, all created from colored paper with layers of water and origami fish, flowers and butterflies.

Quirky sculptures created from Styrofoam paper cups that have been cut and shredded, shaped and swirled into abstract shapes and re-composing them into.

Just another reminder here, too, that March 22 is Art Night at HHS. A co-event with Thespian Society members, it will feature a silent auction.