MV offers tasty art

BY TOM FONTANA
Correspondent

By the time the Arts Alive! program at Mountain View Jr. Sr. High School was over, a lot of the art was missing.

Even though many visitors admitted taking some of the art, it will not be returned.

It was eaten.

Among the drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, music, woodworking, and dance displayed by students on Thursday, April 16, there was also plenty of tasty snacks created by the school’s culinary artists.

Although these creations are called a ‘science’ by Dr. Elaine Chichura, who teaches Family & Consumer Science, the ‘art’ of cooking was clearly on display.

“We wanted to create foods that people could eat while strolling around enjoying the music and art,” Dr. Chichura explained. “Finger foods, you might call them.”

The students prepared all of the finger foods offered, and even walked among the art lovers with full trays of bite-sized eats, delivering the delectable morsels to the visitors as they pondered more stationary, permanent works of art, such as a weighty iron sculpture of an octopus devouring a ship, created by junior Nicholas Tran, or his giant painting of a Geisha face.

While digesting cheese and sausage on a cracker, or an oozing vanilla cream puff (washed down with freshly-made lemonade), the crowd that night also heard the elementary school Chimette group, witnessed performances by members of the high school choir and jazz band, and saw a demonstration of Spanish dances.

This night wasn’t the first time Dr. Chichura’s young chefs provided edible pleasers for a large group. “When the high school hosted the leadership conference a few weeks ago,” she said, “our students catered lunch for about 60 adults who attended. Not only did they plan the whole meal, but also made sure they included something for vegetarians.”

Some of the food art at Arts Alive! that could certainly be called ‘art’ were a snackable basket made of braided bread and juicy red apples carved to look like swans.

It all sounds fun and delicious, but Dr. Chichura seriously insisted that the Family & Consumer Science course is more than about satisfying one’s appetite.

“This class provides the practical application of all of the other school subjects,” she stated. “Cooking reflects history and culture, the science and math of mixing ingredients, the biology of growing and harvesting food, the financial understanding of how to create a budget and use checks or credit cards, reading skills to follow a recipe, healthy and active living through good nutrition, as well early child care and smart consumerism.”