It's been a vibrant, beautiful, jampacked semester.

Always Be Creating.

One might argue this is Prairie’s favorite version of the ABCs. It’s been a busy – and award-worthy – semester for the Visual Arts Department. Creations by students and staff (and sometimes both) have garnered recognition on the local, regional, and national level.

Congratulations to all of our artists – we are proud of you.

Never stop creating.

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Artworks by Russell Krupp ’29 (left), Luke Mattick ’27 (right), Kaihlyn Heredia ’27, and Joshua Utley ’26 are included in University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s The Art Party: High School Art Exhibition in The Rita which opened on Friday, December 5th at 5:30.

“This year’s exhibition will feature over 80 artworks from 15 regional high schools, showcasing the extraordinary talent of students across Southeastern Wisconsin.”

The exhibit runs through January 14th, 2026.

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AJ Mrotek ’28 was awarded an Honorable Mention in the category of Painting in the Chicagoland 4×5 Exhibition, the “largest ‘small’ art exhibition in the world.” Only 10% of all entries were selected as Honorable Mention recipients.

AJ’s entry will be on display at the Award Winners Showcase hosted by the Water Street Studios in Batavia, kicking off on Friday, December 12th from 6-9PM.

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Holly Wolf-Mattick, Glassblowing Studio Manager, has been working with three Upper School students, Cole Johnson ’27, Kaihlyn Heredia ’27, and Penelope Martinez ’28 on a mural to be installed at the Racine Food Pantry. The mural will be unveiled in December and a celebratory reception will be held in January of 2026.

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Visual Arts Department Chair Vicki Schmitz‘s artwork The Land was juried into the 2025 National Art Education Association Member Exhibition as one of 70 works selected from the nearly 400 entered for judging.

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Artist-in-Residence Bill Reid ’73 has been busy doing what Bill Reid does best – cranking out beautifully zany, one-of-a-kind creations that draw rave reviews.

Reid’s Catiwhack, a musical pedal car, which is part of the permanent collection at the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota is currently on display in the museum’s lobby.

Reid’s exhibit 50 States of Mind, on display now through next August in the Kenosha Public Museum, features “photographs of his whimsical, brightly painted steel sculptures in natural settings, reimagining each state’s welcome sign and motto with a humorous twist.”

He also currently has a few pieces on display in the Racine Art Museum’s exhibit, “From the Archives.”

Finally, Reid was profiled in the recent Holiday 2025 issue of Chicago Life Magazine. In the article, he discusses influences, inspiration, and how he came to call Wind Point, WI – and Prairie – home.