Spring Art Show

Five upperclassmen who are in advanced high school art classes had their works featured in a spring art show on Friday, April 10. Students and staff visited the gallery on the mezzanine and talked with the artists from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A public show and reception for family, friends, and community members was from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.  

Artist Perspectives

Each of the featured students in the spring show shared perspectives on their artistic experiences.

Tori Vaughn: One of the most challenging aspects of preparing for this show has been choosing which art pieces to include because I have put so much time and effort into all of them. I genuinely love each artwork and the process behind creating them, which made it even harder to narrow them down. Each piece represents something different to me, and I want people to connect with the energy behind my work. This process has pushed me to think about which pieces truly represent me and my art style. 

Bree Armstrong: My favorite piece in the show is the truck that I did in Prismacolor colored pencils. It was a white F250 with lime green springs, and it was on a six-inch lift. This truck belonged to my old friend, and I made it as a gift for him. The most difficult part of the truck was the grill because there were so many small details I had to put in and then blend the colors to make it look realistic.

Taylor Thompson: My favorite artist is Leonardo da Vinci, and I am particularly drawn to the Renaissance art style. These are my favorites because this person, along with this movement, has made art life-like, technical, and scientific. It completely shifted what realistic art once was to what it is today. The Renaissance movement did this by adding depth to the background and characters, specific lighting to show where the light source was coming from, and by studying anatomy to make the people more anatomically accurate, creating a more realistic and life-like feel. 

Jessie Griffin: Something that I’ve learned from my high school art experience is that patience is key. Sometimes a piece of art doesn’t always go the way you want it to immediately, but it’s always important to trust the process of your art piece! One piece I can think of recently that I’ve really had to trust the process for is my linoleum printing. Carving it out and not being able to know how it’ll turn out is always nerve-racking, but my patience and trust for my own abilities always makes it turn out better than I may think.

Kaylee Root: My favorite piece in the show is a pencil drawing I did, Angel Eyes, which is based on a statue of a cherub. For this piece, I used graphite pencils, which have always been my favorite since I was a child, and this piece reminded me of my deep appreciation for the art medium. I was inspired by the Renaissance period, which featured many works centered around Christian figures, especially angels. The theme of my piece is innocence and peace, which I tried to show using gentle shading. I especially value this work because it reconnected me with my early love for drawing.

Challenge Project

A special assignment art teacher Kelly Eldridge gave the students was a challenge project in which they had special parameters and five days to complete it. The artists had to design a still life containing three objects using only red, blue, yellow, and white (or a blend of them).