WARSAW — Kai Hackworth’s first major art project as a senior at Warsaw Community High School reeled in a pleasant personal moment on Friday.

Hackworth, a recent graduate, was one of numerous students who participated in an art project that is now part of a display at Atelier, the art gallery in downtown Warsaw.

Hackworth designed a three-and-a-half-foot-long multi-colored fishing lure that took center stage in the gallery and caught the attention of Paul Nadolski who attended Friday’s exhibition open house.

Nadolski purchased it for $400 – much to the surprise and delight of Hackworth.

"Very unexpected," Hackworth exclaimed Friday night, surrounded by people at the open house.

Hackworth said the artwork — titled 'Bait and Switch' — was inspired by his memories of time spent with his grandfather as they would search for the perfect lures.

Nadolski, who attended the open house with his fiance and child, was hooked almost as soon as he walked in the door.

"I love fishing and happened to see it and it just caught my eye and I wanted to buy it right away," Nadolski said.

The group exhibition highlighting surf-related art also includes stand-up paddle boards, longboards, wakeboards, and skateboards, as well as film, sculpture, and painting.

Friday's open house attracted lots of students and members of the public, and had a festive spirit. Kona Ice Truck sold treats outside. A DJ played music inside and staff from Moving Pictures Tattoo Cinema, down the street, offered temporary tattoos nearby for free to passersby.

The idea for the summer show titled "Next Wave" came through a collaboration between Atelier Director Sea Grandon and WCHS instructor (and artist) Andrea Miller.

The bulk of the work in the show comes from WCHS’s "Gone Boarding" program in the Engineering & Technology Department of the Warsaw Area Career Center where students design a range of boards including surfboards.

Miller said she first met Grandon through the Public Arts Commission and that Grandon quickly realized the potential for a surf and sea theme relying in part on the Gone Boarding program.

Miller said she's seen scholastic art displays in other museums and that the Warsaw display "goes beyond what some of the museums have been able to do."

She said she appreciates Grandon's ability to connect with people about art.

“I’m really excited about working with Sea, both on the Public Arts Commission and as a community member and as a teacher … she is really good at looking at things from many different perspectives and inviting viewers in and is generous with how to talk to them about art," Miller said. 

Grandon has made it a point to involve the community with the gallery. She featured a local painter earlier this yer and said her goal is to host some kind of community exhibit every other year.

"It's really exciting to see people of all ages being involved in the gallery. I love working with the students," Grandon said. "I'm really thrilled that some of them are motivated to keep creating and are energized by the experience — and that's the whole point."

The entire project had the support of the community.

To offset the cost of raw materials for crafting the boards, several businesses and organizations stepped up to sponsor the show. The Bailey R.
Moore Foundation, The Lake House, Noa Noa Wood Grill & Sushi Bar, OrthoWorx,
Plug and Play Indiana, Pro Wake Watersports, The Watershed Foundation, and the
Warsaw Public Arts Commission are all sponsors of Next Wave. Sponsorship monies
go entirely to the Gone Boarding program in order to offset the cost of materials
used to create the works in the show as well as materials to be used in the
upcoming 2024-2025 school year.

The exhibit at Atelier continues through Aug. 31.

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