Student artwork on exhibit at Bank of Cape Cod

Their images evoke thoughts of Spring, depicting vibrant backyard flowers and colorful birds created with etchings and linocuts. You can almost smell the flowers and hear the birds singing.

The artwork by students in the Advanced Placement and Advanced Art classes at Falmouth High School is a wonderful respite from this prolonged Cape Cod winter. Their work is on display at Bank of Cape Cod’s Falmouth branch beginning March 17 and will serve an even more important purpose beyond its visual appeal --- all proceeds from the sale of art will benefit the Arlene Hanlon Scholarship.

“This is our first foray featuring student work at our Falmouth branch and we couldn’t be more pleased,” said Mark Skala, director of marketing and community relations at Bank of Cape Cod. “We are thrilled to feature these talented students, but to also help raise funds in memory of someone who was so dear to students and staff at Falmouth High gives it even more significance.”

The exhibit, being coordinated by art teacher Jane Baker and titled Bloom and Grow, benefits the scholarship setup in memory of Hanlon. She was a beloved staff member at Falmouth High for more than 15 years and died suddenly last fall.

Ellen Barol, a scholarship committee member, said Hanlon had a “special place in the hearts of her colleagues and students” with whom she worked. She created and built the MCAS tutoring program for students who need extra support to pass the state-mandated exams. 

“She loved nature and flowers and the works feature etchings and linocuts of backyard flowers and local birds, all done in memory of Arlene,” Baker said. “They (scholarship committee members) are thrilled you are giving us this opportunity to show the art and to sell the works to benefit the scholarship and art students. It is a terrific thing.”

Students completed their art over the course of the fall semester based on sketches they created while on a class trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.  Their work will be on display at the bank’s 445 Main Street branch until April 17. A reception for the students, their families and the public is set for Thursday, March 20, from 5-7 p.m. at the branch.

“We have had many, many wonderful community exhibits since our branch opened in the Spring of 2012, but we are particularly excited to play host to the students and in some way bolster this important scholarship,” Skala said