ARTISTS—Adolfo Camarillo High School students, from left, Iris Jang, Lauren Stevens, Taryn Benton and Sinna Umetsu surround their art teacher, Bonnie Mills, in class earlier this week. The four students are part of an art show that brings the student’s work into Studio Channel Islands Art Center on Ventura Boulevard. For 16- year- old Megan Schneider, the opportunity to show her art to the public is a chance to prove teenagers can be talented in the arts despite their youth.

“Everybody was really surprised that all high-schoolers did it,” said Megan, a Camarillo resident. “It was cool to defy everybody’s perception of us.”

Students and faculty from Adolfo Camarillo High School are featured in the art exhibition being presented at Studio Channel Islands Art Center on Ventura Boulevard in Old Town from Jan. 8 to 30.

The show is titled ACHS @ SCIART and consists primarily of artwork from Camarillo High juniors and seniors. The gallery features 60 pieces of art from 34 students.

The high school’s art department chair Bonnie Mills said many of her students found a sense of belonging to the art world because the show gives public recognition to their hard work.

“We made memories, and this is an opportunity for them to look back and understand they did something that was a joint effort,” said Mills, an art teacher at ACHS for 10 years. “They have a strong sense of accomplishment, personal pride and validation of being an artist.”

Karin Geiger, executive director of SCIART, collaborated with Mills to organize the art show.

Geiger said it’s a valuable experience for students because normally they finish their art piece but don’t take the next step: showing it to the public.

Giving the students a chance to see firsthand the work that goes into hosting a reception for an art show is a lesson in itself, she said.

“We take art education very seriously and we want to work with the local schools to give them an experience of art outside the classroom,” said Geiger, a Camarillo resident. “We just want to give them a glimpse of what being a professional artist will be.”

Lauren Stevens, 17, said she eventually wants to pursue medicine as a career but uses art as an emotional outlet. She said her favorite part of the experience was the opening reception because there was so much community support.

“I was so happy that so many people came out to support our art class and that we had enough publicity to get the information out because normally people just don’t know about these things,” said Lauren, who won an honorable mention for her acrylic painting.

More than 200 attended the opening reception, where students served refreshments and guided guests around the gallery.

A silent auction of Mill’s paintings during the reception raised funds for the inaugural Adolfo Camarillo High School Fine Arts Award, which will be presented to a graduating senior. Mills said the art program is still looking for a benefactor to fund the award.

Bob Privitt, a professor emeritus of Pepperdine University and one of the art show’s jurors, awarded first-, second- and third-place awards and honorable mentions.

First place went to senior Iris Jang, 18, for her graphite and colored pencil piece called “Above the Influence.” It’s a drawing of a child clutching balloons to fly over a city.

“It was a really good experience to have a professional gallery.

“And after being in the show, I think this is what I want to do in the future,” said Iris, who plans to major in art history and studio art after graduation. “I really enjoyed showing my work.”

Mills said validation is important to the development of a young artist because it shapes how they perceive their own art and abilities.

“Artists sometimes have a tough time discovering where they belong until somebody validates their passion and gift because each artist is their own artist,” Mills said. “Art is an avenue they can take to express themselves and expose themselves. None of their art looks the same. It’s quite unique, like their fingerprint.”

It’s a lesson Megan has already taken to heart.

“(The reception) built selfconfidence in ourselves so in a future show, when we will have critics, we’ll be able to stand our ground and talk about our art,” the teen said.

SCIART, 2221 Ventura Boulevard, is open Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For information, call Geiger at ( 805) 383- 1368 or e- mail sciartcenter@verizon.net.