Troy art students selling ornaments

By JOHN BLODGETT

The Western News

The response to a Troy Schools Art Club fundraiser “thus far has been stunning,” according to advisor and art teacher Jeanie Palmer.

The 20 junior high and high school students who comprise the club have been aiming to make about 800 Christmas tree ornaments based on those the club made earlier in the year for the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, Palmer said.

“More than half of the ornaments have been spoken for” less than a week after they were announced, Palmer said via email.

Palmer designed the original ornaments to represent three local fish species — the Rainbow, Cutthroat and Bull trout.

“Beginning last spring, the club helped with the creation of over 200 large ceramic trout for the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree,” Palmer wrote. “They also helped put on public events where community members could glaze the fish. This fall, the club decided to sell down-sized replicas of these ornaments as a fundraiser.”

The ornaments cost $5 each or $12 for a set of three. To purchase one or all three, Palmer said to contact her at jpalmer@troyk12.org or visit the Christmas craft show at Troy’s Morrison Elementary School on Saturday, Dec. 2.

Hoping to finish making the ornaments in time for the craft show, Palmer said the art club has been meeting every day during “enrichment” at the end of the school day, and many students have been staying into the early evening working on the ornaments.

Palmer said the art club “assists the school and community with art-related projects, sponsors an annual scholarship, puts on the annual student art show, and tries to take students on at least one trip per year to experience art and culture beyond our remote area.”

The club also holds fundraisers throughout the year to support such activities, she wrote.