LaGRANGE — Donning old T-shirts and using them as smocks, third grade students in Maria Hays’ art class were busy creating still-life drawings. Some may say it was like apples and oranges because the students used fruit to create their masterpieces.

At the beginning of class, Hays gave instructions on how to make a large drawing on their vertical paper to create a total of four art pieces. To complete the project, they had to at least use two oil — pastel — and two soft — chalk — drawings of different fruits located on tables throughout the classroom.

In addition, they learned what colors to use for backgrounds, like brown and gray. They then selected complementary colors to highlight their fruit drawings. As Hays walked around the room, the students were eager to show her their art and what they had chosen to draw.