Cape Cod National Seashore to Host - An Era Exposed - Exhibit by Nauset Regional High School Honors Art Student

Date: October 15, 2014
Contact: Barbara Dougan, 508-255-3421

Cape Cod National Seashore's Parks as Classrooms Education Program and the Nauset Regional High School Art Department recently collaborated on an education program designed to introduce honors portfolio, printmaking, and photography students to the national seashore's historic buildings, and to inspire the creation of art based on these cultural properties. Works from this collaboration will be on display at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham between November 3 and 25, 2014. There will be an artist reception Tuesday, November 4 from 1:30 to 2:30 PM.

Students in Mrs. Ogden's Honors Portfolio and Printmaking classes, and Mrs. Campbell's Photography classes visited the Atwood Higgins property in Wellfleet in September. Following an educational presentation by a park ranger, they investigated the architecture of the property's many buildings to gain inspiration for their art. The photography students shot the wide range of available textures, while the portfolio students sketched on site and then returned to class to complete their interior and exterior work, using a medium of their choice.

Also being showcased in the November exhibition are works derived from field trips to the Ray Wells and Zara's dune shacks in the Province Lands. Works by printmaking students feature white line woodblocks and dry point etchings, while photographs emphasize textural details. The dune dwellings are part of a National Register historic district which derives part of its historic value from its association with the development of art and literature in America, making it a perfect educational venue for local art students.

If you go: Salt Pond Visitor Center is located at the intersection of Route 6 and Nauset Road in Eastham and is open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The center includes a lobby with expansive views of Salt Pond, Nauset Marsh, and the Atlantic;a museum featuring the park's natural and cultural resources; staff to assist with trip planning, and a store with books, maps, puzzles, games, apparel, and other interpretive items. There are short films shown throughout the day. The Buttonbush and Nauset Marsh Trails, and the Nauset Bike Trail are located nearby. For more information on Cape Cod National Seashore programs call 508-255-3421, or check the park's website, www.nps.gov/caco.stories;