Walls Come to Life at Pinnacle High School

By Craig Royce

Utilizing art education analytics, contributions and suggestions by some of Utah’s authentic top mixed media, including photography, pen, ink, acrylic, oils and spray paint art, and design professionals from the historic art colony of Helper, Utah, Dec. 10 was the date of a truly moving art show created by the Pinnacle Canyon Academy’s student art talent.

Pinnacle has a long tradition of leading-edge art appreciation and training, a wonderful foundation laid by those educators before.

More recently, the school has received contribution and suggestions from artists such as Jason Huntzinger (fine art photographer, BFA from the University of Minnesota Duluth, adjunct art professor at USU Eastern and director and curator of the world-famous Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper) and Kate Kilpatrick-Miller, whose work has been recently displayed at K2 Gallery in Helper (the historic art center where her own studio is located and the home of her groundbreaking “The Faces of Helper” archival project).

Kilpatrick-Miller’s art has been displayed as far west as Palm Desert, Calif. where it was well received in the strong Southern California art community environment. As well, Ashley Hardy, a multi-media artist who runs the artist’s collective Canvas Alchemy in Helper, and Deena Floyd, a respected Helper artist and art education advocate, played a role.

The above working professionals teamed up with known Pinnacle names such as Pinnacle High School’s chief IT assistant Sabrina Van Wagoner and former student Kayden Fish. Fish produced the 2016 student film “Sci-Fi Flick,” which was submitted to Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival and subsequently acknowledged by Redford.

All aforementioned names made for a moving and memorable evening for Pinnacle High School students, the community, family and friends. Art careers were born. The fine photographs by Jeff Barrett of the event and art tell the story.