Coupeville Elementary School students’ art work shone bright Tuesday night.

The lights were off in the two rooms showcasing their work, but the pieces stood out prominently, wrapped in or surrounded by Christmas lights.

“This is all about reflections,” said art and music teacher Kim McWilliams.

Throughout the year, McWilliams has been teaching her art students “the big idea of light.” Lessons spanned topics such as the aurora Borealis, the sun and man-made lights.

McWilliams said she was inspired after attending the National Art Education Association convention and seeing light sculptures. She brought the idea back to her students and combined with the practice of “up-cycling.”

She gave the children recycled items or thrift store finds and encouraged them to create sculptures.

Many of the items were purchased thanks to grants from the Coupeville Parent Teacher Association and the Community Foundation for Coupeville Public Schools.

“I had a heyday,” McWilliams said with a laugh. “I got to spend $200 at Michaels.”

For the show, second graders had created figures from recycled items wrapped in foil. The pieces were then displayed with lights around them to shine and twinkle off the foil.

Fourth and fifth graders created eclectic towers of gold, silver and copper— inspired by thrift store finds and decorated with complementary ribbon and, of course, lights.

Kindergartners created foil cylinders that hung from wire racks and reflected colored lights hung around them. Hunter Coatney showed his mom which one he made. He said the process was fun.

“It has sticky stickers,” he said, holding his decorated cylinder.

A copper-colored pole, decorated with star-shaped lights, a star on top and an ornate diamond shape in the middle caught the eye of first grader Randy Wiebe.

“Whoa,” Wiebe said as he walked by.

“When the lights are off, it just looks so cool!”

Kindergartner Hunter Coatney, shows his mom Adriaenne Coatney his foil cylinder at Tuesday’s art show at Coupeville Elementary School. Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times

A display of Coupeville Elementary School kindergartners’ art work at the school’s Season of Lights show Tuesday night. Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times

A tower created by Coupeville Elementary School fifth graders. The students learned to focus on use of light and “up-cycling” thrift store finds. Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times