By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Students at Valley Elementary School have spent the past few weeks creating artwork to adorn everything from calendars to T-shirts through the school’s Square 1 art fundraiser.

Through the program, the school obtains special paper from a printing company, and allows students to use them to draw or paint their own works of art.

VES art teacher Leigh Walker said she infused the fundraiser with the lessons she has been teaching the children this year. Before the fundraiser began, kindergarten students drew self portraits with crayons, first-graders used tempera paint and markers to create underwater scenes and second-graders created pastel flowers.

The result was more than 700 pieces of art depicting everything from a wide-grinned, colorful self portrait to stained-glass-like flower petals.

“The kids worked very hard on these, and they are very proud of them,” Walker said Nov. 1 as she sorted through the hundreds of pieces of art. “This teaches them how to use different materials to create their art.”

After the children created their artwork, they brought order forms home to allow their families to have their art printed on a variety of items, such as water bottles, yard banners and aprons. After Nov. 4, Walker will send the artwork back to the printing company, which will print the children’s artwork on the items ordered.

Nov. 4 is the last day to order items through the fundraiser, Walker said.

“This fundraiser generates pretty much the entire art program budget for the entire year,” Walker said.