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Sandy Journal

Kendali Studios hosts inaugural student art show

Jun 21, 2017 12:19PM ● By Keyra Kristoffersen

Dale Fenton won Best of Show at the Kendali Studios inaugural student art show. (Susie Bytheway)

By Keyra Kristoffersen | [email protected]
 
Sandy is known for holding events that showcase the artists who live in the area, and on May 19, Kendali Studios joined that tradition with their first student art show.
 
“We had a lot of people there,” said Susie Bytheway, owner, creative director and teacher at Kendali Studios in the Sandy City foothills. “A lot of kids brought their parents and grandparents to see.”
 
Bytheway started the art studio in 2015 with her son and husband, first with classes in the summer and then opened the newly renovated barn in September. Bytheway and her family wanted to open a creative space for other people looking to learn a little more about different art forms.
 
“We did it because we wanted a community-based area where people, kids and adults, could come to be able to improve their art skills and learn new skills and empower them,” she said. “I think what we want for the most part is to empower them to feel like they can draw and try new things and not be afraid of it.”
 
Students from 5 years old to adult can sign up and come take classes and workshops from different teachers in a variety of disciplines, including pastels, colored pencils, watercolors and oil painting. Each class has an average of 8–12 students at a time, such as the Exploring Art Mediums for kids, which allows them to learn about and test different art styles, and the Beyond Stick Figures for adults, where subjects are simplified step by step to help artists gain confidence in their abilities.
 
The art show was open to any student during the 2016–17 school year and they could submit up to two pieces in any style. They were then rated by a panel of three local judges made up of professionals and art enthusiasts based on uniqueness, talent and skill, and composition, using a point system. The artists were separated into categories based on age: 5–12 years, 13–18 years and adults. 
 
Participants met that evening before before anyone besides the judges saw the submitted works, a decision that Bytheway felt heightened the excitement and anticipation for the crowd.
 
“Watching the looks on the kids’ faces and even some of the adults, and the surprise and cheering them on was a really good way of doing it,” she said.
 
Dale Fenton won Best of Show with his oil painting titled “Twilight.”
 
First, second and third place winners were awarded gifts cards for free studio classes and art sets.
 
“We were very surprised with how it went. We got a lot of interest,” said Bytheway.
 
Kendali’s summer camps and workshops include a watercolor class taught by Ian Ramsey, an architect from England turned full-time artist and teacher, at the Salt Lake Art Center on June 17.

On July 15, a Landscape Oil Painting workshop will be taught by Brendan Clary, who graduated magna cum laude in fine arts from Brigham Young University Idaho in 2010 and now teaches at the Salt Lake Community College where, Bytheway said, he has a real gift not only for producing art but also for teaching. Clary will also be teaching a class on portrait oil painting at Kendali on August 12.
 
Kendali is an Indonesian word that translates to “bridle one’s talents and passions” and that is the message and atmosphere Bytheway hopes to convey to anyone looking for a place to learn more about art and feel a sense of community. She also hopes the interest generated by word of mouth allows them to expand that message outward and into the creation of another, larger teaching space. By using the student art show as a kind of open house, Bytheway hopes classes will fill and more will be added in new subjects like digital art and photography.
 
“Everybody can learn when it comes to art. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you can always learn more,” she said.
 
Fall classes will be posted by July 15. For more information about upcoming classes and workshops, visit www.kendalistudios.com.