Estancia students display their wares

Sue Doyle

COSTA MESA -- If all the student artwork displayed at Estancia High

School were meshed together as one, the single drawing of a young woman’s

face would be the focal point of it all.

Eric Tarrosa’s colored-pencil drawing of his “ideal girl” attracts

spectators inside the school’s library, where nearly 1,000 pieces of art

were on display Wednesday. The exhibit will remain for students to view

until Friday.

The artwork, from watercolors to jewelry to fashion, reflects the many

natural talents of many students. They’ve worked on the displayed pieces

throughout the school year in art classes.

In fact, Tarrosa’s piece is just one of many that art teacher Christine

Murray describes as “amazing.” Murray has taught two-dimensional art for

two years at the school. She knows which student created each piece with

just a glance at the individual style.

“They are so young and amazing. Some will continue to art school after

they graduate,” Murray said.

A bureau of jewelry containing rings and one-of-a-kind necklaces sits at

the exhibition’s entrance. Many pieces were made for girlfriends and

mothers, Murray said.

Not one piece of open space went unused in the library. Displays were

clustered on the library’s floor and were organized according to the

particular medium.

Fashion, from halter tops to long skirts, hung on hangers down the

railing of the library stairs. Some large pieces of art were suspended

from the ceiling.

Senior Nancy Ortiz, 18, pointed at her print of a bearded old man, and

smiled as she recognized some of her friends’ works also on display.

“I love drawing,” she said. “It’s really fun. I enjoy this and it’s so

exciting to have something on display.”

Murray walked over to some pictures drawn by Drew Berry, a junior who has

already entered the art business by selling her work over the Internet.

With just a little ink, marker and colored pencil, Barry can whip up

pictures “right out of her head,” Murray said. “She’s our little

entrepreneur.

One artist, Marc Crenshaw, attends Costa Mesa High School in the morning

and takes art classes at Estancia during the afternoon.

Crenshaw’s drawing of a man’s face came alive in blue pastel on black

paper. It’s so unique that some students gathered around to take a closer

look.

Tanya Romo, a 17-year-old senior, came to the exhibition just to see

Crenshaw’s work. Although she is not an art student, Romo marveled at the

talents of her classmates.

“I’m not good at drawing, but I can at least appreciate it,” she said.