Del City hotel showcases student artwork

By Tonya Little

Contributing Writer

The SpringHill Suites, located at 5400 Main St. in Del City, hosted their second annual ‘Art of Local’ event on Tuesday. The hotel showcased the works of 60 Mid-Del School students and local artist Carolyn Pruett to bring local art and culture to hotel guest and the surrounding community. Serving as a space for creativity and inspiration, the SpringHill Suites Art of Local is an event that provided local artists with a platform to showcase their work to a broader audience. Additionally, guest enjoyed an elevated local experience and an opportunity to connect with fellow travelers.

Mid-Del School students, from Middle School to High School, were able to display paintings and other forms of art, to bring a taste of local talent into the hotel for the evening.

“SpringHill Suites is about creating meaningful moments by delivering a little more than the expected. The Art of Local reflects the brand’s commitment to style and design while celebrating the talent and culture each city has to offer,” said Callette Nielsen, vice president and global brand manager, SpringHill Suites by Marriott.

Guests of the event were given special Art of Local coloring books which were created for the event, as well as a free drink ticket from the bar. Food and beverages were served.

“I created a ceramic pot with a lid, inspired by my little sister who likes to dress up like a princess, which is why I named it Logan. It took me probably about a month of classroom time to make it. My favorite part of creating it was designing the tiara, cutting it out and putting it on there, that was fun,” said Maisie Haraughty, a sophomore from Midwest City High School who had a piece displayed at the event.

There were many different mediums and kinds of art displayed at the event, including drawing, watercolor, ceramics, weaving, various forms of painting, sculptures and more. Many of the students who created the works of art on display were on hand to talk about their pieces of art.

“I really like it when other people can make their own interpretation of my art and I really appreciate the different interpretations of it besides my own. I like to compare and contrast them,” said Patience Barnett, s

enior at Midwest City High School, on why she wanted to show her watercolor piece “Honey Boy” at the art show.

The art show was open for 2 hours and many different people from the community came to walk through the exhibit. The hotel was also full of guests who got the pleasure of having the event available in the lobby as they came and went as well.

“I really like art and I really wanted to just do something that I wanted to do. I really enjoy watching Arrow and Flash, so I just decided to draw them. These took me about 2 or 3 weeks. I really enjoy just creating what I want,” said Jenna Campbell, a freshman from Carl Albert High School, about her Super hero drawings that were on display.

The event seemed to be a great success for both the hotel and the students. The hotel lobby gave the students a beautiful place to exhibit their art, and gave them an audience to show off all of their hard work to.

“We just want to show our guests some inspirational art pieces and help being connected to the community. We make sure we invite as many people as possible. I want to make sure that people feel connected and see how beautiful this artwork all looks. We have some talented students, we have some great teachers as well who really do teach, it’s just amazing what they can do,” said Nicole Powell, the director of sales and marketing at Springhill Suites.