March 24, 2026 - Comal ISD hosted the third of four student art shows of the 2025-2026 school year on Tuesday, March 17, at its Support Services building in New Braunfels. Each show features more than 100 pieces of art created by students from various campuses.
The spring show highlighted work from eight campuses in the Smithson Valley High School feeder pattern including Arlon Seay Elementary, Bill Brown Elementary, Johnson Ranch Elementary, Rahe Bulverde Elementary, Smithson Valley Middle, Spring Branch Middle, SVHS and Hill Country College Preparatory High School.
The invitation-only art-gallery-style show featured artwork created by students in kindergarten through 12th grades, selected by campus art teachers. Each artist was awarded a medal as the teachers explained the different pieces. Parents and family members were on hand to take photos and view the work.
A highlight of the show was the announcement of the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art, which is hand selected by Superintendent Dr. John E. Chapman III. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding talent and creativity.
The artists who received the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring show are listed here.
- Francesca Imes, 5th grade, Bill Brown Elementary, for “Dream of Day and Night”
- Ashlynn Romero, 7th grade, Smithson Valley Middle School, for “Botanical Beating Heart”
- Emery Bayless, 10th grade, Smithson Valley High School, for “San Francisco”
The show featured sketches, watercolor, oil pastels, mixed media, charcoal, printmaking and more.
Imes was surprised that her piece was selected as the elementary honoree. The 11-year-old used watercolor, pencil and sharpie to create her design which gave an optical illusion of day and night. She enjoys creating art and says she comes from a family of artists.
For 10th-grade artist Gianna Sheppard from SVHS, art provides her with a way to express her emotions. Two of her pieces were showcased on Tuesday. One featured acrylic paint titled “Inspired by Mary Cassatt” paying homage to one of her favorite artists. The other featured a bear with a fish in its mouth created using ballpoint pens, paint and coffee grinds. This one was designed for her grandmother who enjoys visiting Alaska.
“I like the freedom of art,” says Sheppard who is enrolled in Art III Painting II and AP Art History and plans to make art her career as a collegiate art professor. “Through art, I am able to express my emotions, and it calms me down.”
Sheppard’s pieces were part of a color theory lesson challenging students to use only four colors to create their pieces including yellow, red, blue and white.
Fellow SVHS artist and 12th-grade student Broderick Pugh also had two designs selected for the show. One was part of an international art outreach program called the Memory Project which his art teacher Julie Ebarb has been participating in for more than a decade.
The project matches art students with children from around the world who are facing challenges. Each student receives information about their child and creates portraits or identity art featuring items they like with encouraging words.
Pugh was matched with a boy from Cambodia who enjoys playing soccer, is joyful and loves the color orange. The portraits are created using drypoint, which is a printmaking technique where the artist scratches lines directly into the surface of the plate, in this case, pexiglass. Ebarb says the students enjoyed learning this process.
The second artwork by Pugh, titled 'Goat,' was a charcoal drawing of one of his favorite NBA stars, Michael Jordan, which took 25 hours to complete.
“I enjoy creating art, seeing my parents’ reaction and seeing the end result,” says Pugh who is enrolled in Art II Printmaking I and Art IV Drawing III. “At a young age, my mom always told me I was talented, and that encouraged me. Art also helps calm me down during the day.”
The district, which has been named a District of Distinction by the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) for seven years in a row, plans to host one additional art show this school year on May 11.
List of students featured in the winter art show
Elementary Campuses
Arlon Seay Elementary School. Art teacher Dorothy Runyen. Austin Barela, 5; Oakley Cazares, 3; Quinnley Freede, 4; Olivia Libert, 5; Tobias McKee, 5; Karen Onofre, 5; Eli Reyes, 5; Lexi Slusser, 5; Ashlyn Wink, 3; and Blakely Wink, 1.
Bill Brown Elementary School. Art teacher Melanie Chaffin. Trevor Cobb, 2; Caroline DeUnger, 5; Francesca Imes, 5; Teague Klaboe, 1; Addilynn Lankford, 1; Alana Perez, 3; Penelope Peterson, 3; Wesley Roberts, 4; Tor Spreeman, 4; and Brody White, 2.
Johnson Ranch Elementary School. Art teacher Olivia Dillon. Beckett Cambon, 3; Declan Davis, 2; Darian Espinoza, 4; Emily Heard, K; Hannah Littau, 1; Harley McMurray, 1; Jamie Oates, 5; Leona R., 2; Charlotte Rincon, 3; and Shaylee Viernes, 4.
Rahe Bulverde Elementary School. Art teacher Charis Taylor. Olivia Baxter, 5; Colton Flores, 4; Melanie Mendoza Corrales, 3; Camden Morrow, 2; Emma Myers, 1; Lily Robbins, K; Maya Terry, K; Addison Thomas, 2; Zoe Valadez, 1; and Petra Warner, 5.
Middle School Campuses
Smithson Valley Middle School. Art teachers: Alana Pauley and Shannon Thomas. Ava Harris, 6; Melissa Heye, 8; Stella Hoffmann, 7; Raina J., 8; Meredith Larson, 6; Jeremiah Lopez, 8; Brogan Mitchell, 8; Mackinsey Mitchell, 8; Everett Niznik, 6; Atleigh Rademacher, 8; and Ashlynn Romero, 7.
Spring Branch Middle School. Art teacher Joanne Doll. Alexa Aranda Chavez, 7; Esmeralda Beccera-Hernandez, 7; Aubrey Espey, 7; Teagan Feely, 8; Courtney Hall, 8; Chase Hydrick, 7; Ava Larson, 7; Teagan Mansker, 7; and Anna Tucker, 6.
High School Campuses
Hill Country College Preparatory High School. Art teacher Natalie Jones. Emily Barnard, 11; Mihnea Burceag, 10; Emerson Fite, 12; Zoe Fraser, 9; Evalynn Gutierrez, 10; Kaia Hatch, 11; Carolai Kibbe, 10; Noah Lancaster, 10; Michelle Linares-Moreno, 12; Ellyse Marsh, 10; Annaleigh Marsh, 10; Kylie McCranie, 12; Annabelle McKee, 12; Aleigha Meisman, 10; Kehinde Olufemi, 11; Taiye Olufemi, 11; Eleanor Vu, 9; Alyssa Walton, 12; and Grace Wilkinson, 10.
Smithson Valley High School. Art teachers: Julie Ebarb, Lizette Floyd and Natalie Munoz. Berenice Aguilar, 9; Grace Allotta, 10; Emery Bayless, 10; Alexis Budewig, 10; Madeline Cash, 9; Ava Cirincione, 10; Juan Cuevas-Tellez, 11; Cherish Engel, 12; Skyler Fonseca, 10; Ethan Guillermo, 12; Katherine Hartanto, 12; Penelope Jenks, 10; Sofia Keith, 12; Lillian Koenig, 12; Caleigh Kuzmak, 9; Caelan Libby, 12; Katelyn Nemoto, 11; Broderick Pugh, 12; Laken Roberson, 12; Laura Rodriguez-Vazquez, 10; Gianna Sheppard, 10; Brietta Silvesan, 9; Kenzi Williams, 10; and Orion Zayas, 11.
Photo descriptions.
-Bill Brown Elementary fifth-grade student Francesca Imes was awarded the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring art show on March 17.
-The elementary winning art piece for the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring art show on March 7, titled “Dream of Day and Night.”
-Smithson Valley Middle School student Ashlynn Romero was awarded the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring art show on March 17 in the middle school category.
-The middle school winning art piece for the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring art show on March 7, titled “Botanical Beating Heart.”
-Smithson Valley High School 10th-grade student Emery Bayless was awarded the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring art show on March 17 in the high school category.
-The high school winning art piece for the Superintendent’s Excellence Award for Art at the spring art show on March 7, titled “San Francisco.”
-Smithson Valley High School 12th-grade student Broderick Pugh spent 25 hours working on his charcoal drawing titled “Goat.”
-Smithson Valley High School 10th-grade student Gianna Sheppard had two pieces of art selected for the spring art show on March 17, including this one titled “Inspired by Mary Cassatt.”
-Artists from Arlon Seay Elementary.
-Artists from Bill Brown Elementary.
-Artists from Rahe Bulverde Elementary.
-Artists from Johnson Ranch Elementary.
-Artists from Smithson Valley Middle School.
-Artists from Spring Branch Middle School.
-Artists from Hill Country College Preparatory High School.
-Artists from Smithson Valley High School.