A group of WKU students worked for more than five hours on Friday at Cumberland Trace Elementary school in preparation for an upcoming art gala.

Cumberland Trace is hosting a Fine Arts Gala on March 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in conjunction with WKU instructor Teresa Christmas’ Art 310 class. Admission is free, and finger foods, dessert and art work will be for sale. The proceeds will go to support the arts and education at Cumberland Trace.

The children’s artwork will be on display, but professional artists are donating some of their work for the auction that will take place at the gala.

Christmas, who teaches at both schools, had her WKU students help with preparation on Friday.

“We had to matte them and pick the ones we like and make a display,” said Bowling Green junior Scotlynd Campbell.

Each student was responsible for their own display. They acted as curators for the art gala.

Katie Ellis is an elementary education major in Christmas’ art class.

“We learn how to do the art that we would have students do,” Ellis said.

The students have done many different projects. They made stained glass, dragons for the Chinese New Year, lanterns, and most recently surreal clocks.

The clocks the WKU students made from old records are being auctioned at the gala. The clocks each have different themes such as Justin Bieber, Hello Kitty and Disney princesses.

Along with the clocks, Christmas said artists Matt Tullis, Alice Gatewood-Waddell and Print Mafia will have work at the auction.

Christmas said that live performances and a film that the kindergarteners made with the Children’s Theater Department will be featured as well.

Christmas said that the plan is “to auction things we think families will bid against each other for.”

Along with teaching at the elementary school and instructing her WKU course, Christmas is a graduate student herself. She is working on her Master’s in art education and said she has about one more semester left.

“I’m funded this year by the Kentucky Foundation for Women,” she said.

Because of that, Christmas is developing a curriculum that will teach children from grades K-6 about women artists. She will submit this report to the foundation in June.