Howard High School
Isabella Rosario
Grade: 11 Course: Photo 2 Title: Evil Stepsisters Medium: digital photograph Instructor: Hannah Kelly Artist Statement Darkness has many different aspects; from fear, to mysteriousness, and even curiosity. Many use darkness as a form of expression. This photo is about exploring how different styles and subcultures rely on the concept of “darkness” as part of a way to assert one’s identity and make them stand out from the rest. Taking a closer look at the gothic culture, things like black clothing, dark makeup, music and other art forms that delve into less mainstream concepts of beauty, romance and general self-expression navigate views of refinement and elegance. |
Evie Shedleski
Grade: 11 Course: Photo 2 AP Title: Life Medium: Photography Instructor: Mr. Hanson Artist Statement We are all pieced together by the events that happen to us, and people that come in and out of our lives. I showcased this idea, by cutting a variety of boards from board games and piercing them back together by stapling, sewing, taping, and gluing them together. The method of stitching is metaphorical for how there is no one right answer or one way to piece your life together. The people who come through your life are one of the biggest variables that change you. These people are represented by the variety of pieces trying to play the game. |
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Mason Sizemore
Grade: 11 Course: Studio Art AP Title: Funeral on Mars Medium: Hybrid Animation Instructor: Mr. Hensley Artist Statement Over the course of quarantine, I felt a distinct absence of something intangible. It was difficult for me to put a finger on what exactly I was feeling. It seemed like I was mourning the loss of this concept, and this led me to thinking how one goes about doing that in a time where we cannot fill that void with something physical. This is where the story began to take shape. The different ways I see people dealing with loss, and how the inability to physically express that has been turned into a Father and Son, mourning the loss of their wife/mother. I then animated this in a hybrid format as a method of getting the lighting and dust storm I wanted. I believe Science Fiction is a good way of abstracting modern concepts to better see the pain of the idea. The combination of narrative and extreme control over expressions, helped convey the sadness and mourning of my concept. |
Anika Valentine
Grade: 11 Course: Art 3 Title: Trypophobia Medium: Prismacolor art pencils, colored paper, layering, charcoal Instructor: Jeff Hensley Artist Statement My work explores the relationship between people and trypophobia. I like to use nature as inspiration to describe the aesthetic of trypophobia and how it can be viewed in different ways. When I was younger the plant with the holes, known as the lotus flower, always creeped me out. Trypophobia is a mental phobia where people are scared of tiny clustered holes. There is beauty in phobias, and my goal is to show this through my artwork to help others find beautiful details in fears, as where I also have trypophobia. For my materials I use paper, and I set up a stand for layering from a bird’s eye view. I use myself and my own expressions for the main part of my piece. I then make my phobia come to life and inside each hole is another, where it shows the small details of where you can find you greatest fears. |
Alysa Allebach
Grade: 12 Course: Photography Studio Art Title: “Calypso” Medium: Digital Photograph Instructor: Mr. Hanson Artist Statement Have you ever wondered what it would be like to die in the ocean? What would be the first thing you see? Who would you meet? Would the existence of mermaids, or sirens, or sea goddesses become all the more real to you? My image forces you to ponder all of those questions, forces you to wonder if maybe Calypso, the Greek goddess of the sea, is waiting for you at the bottom of the ocean to take you to the underworld. Calypso is one of many rulers of the sea, and was a goddess that sailors both adored and feared. She acted as a symbol of both protection and of their own mortality. She reminded sailors of their grizzly fate, one that was surely welcoming them at the bottom of the ocean. The dark green and blue lighting symbolizes the ocean itself, and the vast unknown it represents for sailors (and everyone else, for that matter). Her veil and crown represent that she is married to the sea. She is a sea nymph, and her main domain is anywhere near water. Her entire life is dedicated to the sea, and it is her destiny to rule it. Much of the sea is still unknown. We will probably never be able to comprehend (or even know) all of its secrets. I created a permanent shrine to Calypso and all her godly glory, and created a scene that serves as a reminder to sailors all over the world of who controls their fate, even to this day. |
Sam Carter
Grade: 12 Course: Art IV Honors Title: Street Ghosts Medium: Digital/ Photograph Instructor: Mr. J. Hensley Artist Statement Time in the ongoing pandemic. There's stores, shops, and restaurants we missed going to. Many of which have been empty, but reminiscent of what was held there stays. I wanted to distort our reality and insert what we used to see, or experienced. Using digital media, I incorporated what would be seen in times of when we could be close and together. |
Sarah Griffith
Grade: 12th Course: Art Studio AP Title: Stasis Medium: Oil on Canvas Instructor: Jeffrey Hensley Artist Statement “Stasis” depicts an afternoon with friends that prior to the pandemic would not be out of the ordinary; however, during this pandemic, a time where days have become almost indistinguishable from one another, what once seemed normal, stands out in my mind. Unable to do even simple actions such as saying hi to another in passing, the sheer joy of existing within another’s sphere is paramount, as the lonesome nature of quarantine is trying, if not crippling. The painting serves as a middle ground in capturing the happiness once had, but also the loss currently felt. Through use of oil paint, I focused not on the particulars of people or place, but attempted to capture the memory through the expressive figures of my friends. In my attempt for it to exist without being centered by surrounding details, it can live as both memory and hope, extending even beyond this current time to one where socialization might be commonplace again. |
Joseph Kayed
Grade: 12 Course: Art 4 AP Title: Escape Medium: MultiMedia Instructor: Jeff Hensley Artist Statement In a world full of disagreements and injustice, it's not abnormal to crave an escape from the environment that surrounds you, or even from time itself. “Escape” expresses this exact feeling. When you find yourself forgetting about things that aren’t so right when you're living in the present moment, it can be a great feeling. Find the people that help you reach that level of acceptance in your exact space in time, they probably share the same values and can help you escape. Trust, values, time; just a few examples of what allow people to create a stronger bond, and also the three main focus points of my portfolio. To properly express my ideas pertaining to this concept, I chose multimedia involving markers, colored pencil, pens and acrylic paint. I kept with the same multimedia technique across every piece in my portfolio. Character design, subject placement and color scheme were all limited to only my creativity and general awareness of what felt right. I find that when I create my art this way it brings out my personal art style while also avoiding the anxiety of following a specific sketch. Take this as inspiration to just start making, connect to your inner child for creative freedom and just do it. |
Nicholas Moroney
Grade: 12 Course: Photography 3 AP Title: Consumption Medium: Digital Photograph Instructor: Matthew Hanson Artist Statement My photo conveys the harmfulness of consumption. Consumption, by definition, is the using up of a resource. When this resource is infinite, there is no limit to how much one can consume. Overconsumption of a limitless resource is most commonly seen in today’s modern technology. The amount of data, information and material on the internet is limitless. Although it can be extremely useful to have a limitless resource, when moderation is not used, this resource can hurt more than it helps. My artwork portrays the overconsumption of data through technology. I created a scene with the character’s hands tied together with cords from a phone and computer. The character has cuts and bloody hands to give a presence of physical danger. I then placed this character within the confines of a computer screen. I created this scene to convey the enslaving nature of technological indulgence. The restrained hands convey how technology clutches on to its user and prevents them from experiencing the fullness of life outside of their comfort zone. I used the computer screen boundary to convey the alternate reality that modern technology confines us too, with many of our relationships, experiences and encounters taking place solely on the internet. Lastly, by using a dark red background, I wanted to create an alarming mood within the viewer, to warn against the dangers of overconsumption. I have struggled with the enslaving nature of technology many times in the past. I invested my time, emotions and relationships into the alternate reality of technology, and slowly felt myself becoming less and less present in the real world. This artwork expresses the feeling of being trapped within this infinite but untruthful world, and I felt relieved to place that feeling into a tangible photograph. |
Jeana Roe
Grade: 12 Course: Art 3 Honors Title: Consuming Sadness Medium: Colored pencil, shea butter Instructor: Jeffrey Hensley Artist Statement One of the most beneficial aspects of art is the ability to communicate with others in a way that is different from the rest. It can communicate without words/signs just like facial expressions or body language can. It can speak for us when we don’t know how to express something out loud. It gives us the power to magnify our concerns, beliefs, or ideas. It is a platform that is empowering, independent, and beautiful in its own unique way. Emotions are a powerful force. Expressing them isn’t always something that comes easily to me. In this piece, I found liberation in expressing a more personal and dark emotion which I don’t typically express to those around me: sadness. Everyone feels sad from time to time. Being in a pandemic and living a different life than the one before it has made me have moments like the one seen in this artwork. I wanted to depict myself battling and being fed up with these overpowering emotions. In the artwork, I attempted to blur the lines between abstraction and realism wherever I could in order to show the consuming power of emotions which can confuse perspective for reality. I used colored pencils and stuck to variations of blue in order to really draw out the emotion. I then rubbed shea butter over some of the colored areas, dragging it onto my face to show myself becoming a part of the background. Not only does this artwork demonstrate the overpowering aspect of negative emotions; it demonstrates my desire to look past it and make the best of life as it is. |
Gabriel L. Viaud
Grade: 12 Course: Art IV AP Title: Gates Disappointment Medium: Mixed Media Instructor: Jeffery Hensley Artist Statement “Gates Disappointment” depicts the struggle in society that differs depending on your placement in this world. Having government lies, watching eyes, and still not being able to realize the overbearing grasp that others have over us is heavily portrayed in the artwork. The media, the internet, and the actions of others are constantly being controlled. Twisting the strings of fate in order to ensure an all-powerful government where your wrong doings lead to the betterment of society. The use of mixed media -colored pencils, acrylic paint, pens, water/alcohol-based markers, and oil pastel- represents the crazy nature of each level and shows that no one is really normal. My use of layers explains the perspective of three groups. The government; overseeing the world in order to enforce order, the people; pawns who are placed in positions that promote failure, and the untamed; those who choose to pull the strings of fate and play God. The first and last page show a clashing of extremes within their own system. Separating the groups into equal sides that both drain the middle population of its knowledge. Having the middle layer represent the people was in order to show that no matter the difference in wealth, there will always be some greater power above and below; Heaven and Hell. That power forces us to believe in things that subconsciously dictate our lives (i.e. college is necessary to succeed in life). Ironically, in the end they are unable to see the cycle in which they have trapped themselves in. Forever enforcing the rules that old white men made to keep us in check, but then acknowledging that half of those rules don’t apply in today’s society. |
Abigail Warwick
Grade: 12 Course: Photography III AP Title: “Day & Night” Medium: Digital Photograph Instructor: Matthew Hanson Artist Statement With “Day & Night,” I created an opposing concept of two sides of one person. The diptych style of presentation allows both photos to be shown side-by-side, emphasizing the contrasting ideas. In the day photo, the subject is shown in light clothes with a happy, cheerful mood, but in the night photo, the subject is shown in darker clothes with a more serious, natural mood. Both concepts are contrasting, while still using the same model in each. The contrasting ideas of day and night in this diptych show how one person can have two very different sides to themselves—whether it be through personality, aesthetic, or behavior. The photos were composed to appear as complete opposites in the mood, body language, color, and clothing while still having similar setups. The similar setups create some cohesiveness and show that despite the two differing sides, they are still both the same person. |
Isaac Weatherby
Grade: 12 Course: Art 4 AP Title: Crooked Jail Cell Bars Medium: Mixed Media Instructor: Jeff Hensley Artist Statement I think the general perception of masculinity nowadays is something very unattainable for most people. It also feels really alienating, at least for me as someone who is trans. I've never been super into sports or camping, which made it really hard to stake my claim as male-aligned. Even after getting through the hurdles of convincing people, it was genuine, I had to get past the problem of not looking conventionally masculine as a small, mousey kid who still liked plenty of feminine things. As I've grown more though, it's occurred to me that I don't have to try to make myself subscribe to a specific type of masculinity if it doesn't work for me, and that I shouldn't be trying to conform to the gender roles I put on myself. I like pink, I paint my nails, I like feminine things, but that doesn't make me feminine, and being feminine and transmasculine isn't contradictory. Cowboys have always held a special place in my heart (besides all of their flaws), because they are seen as the epitome of manliness, and western actors like Clint Eastwood are often viewed as being the perfect man. That's all fair, but to me there's a kind of showier masculinity that you can also find from westerns and the like. It's over the top, flamboyant, and dramatic, and homoerotic at times, and this isn't even to go into the history of cowboys as being largely non-white and LGBT. My artwork is to reflect my own experience with masculinity, and how I view my expression because of that. |
Johanna Wojewodzki
Grade: 12 Course: Studio Art Title: A Home of Bones Medium: Latex paint, wool, wood Instructor: Mr. Hensley Artist Statement This piece explores the relationship between death, loss, and home, a place that, at its core, provides comfort and safety. An image of my own home, which was constructed before the Civil War and was a doctor’s office, is depicted through the abstract use of wood, representing both bones and a connection to nature, and felted organs. The background is composed of Pagan Runes, connecting the piece to my family, a family of practicing Pagans. In exploring the connection between my home and my family’s beliefs, the definition of home became something I had to question. The ideas of living somewhere that many people likely drew their last breaths, but to feel so secure and comfortable, juxtapose each other. This piece explores the discomfort of this juxtaposition, but through the use of white latex paint as the background, a sense of comfort and purity is created. Getting to create this piece caused me to reflect on home and what it means to me, as I prepare to leave for college. Knowing that my family has a place to feel safe, regardless of its history, is comforting. |
Audrey Zinnert
Grade: 12 Course: Art IV: Personal Studio AP Title: Shut up Medium: Mix media Instructor: Artist Statement This series is a visual interpretation of my personal experience of feeling as if no one is listening/paying attention. One of the most frustrating things I find is when people shut down every time you talk about something that made them uncomfortable. Change cannot happen until people are finally ready to listen to the stories that make them uncomfortable. Just shut up! Shut up was a word I used a lot when I was little. It was a loophole that allowed me to say a word that technically was not a cuss word but was still a bad word. It was my little way to turn a phrase that meant to be quiet to f@$k you. Cussing is frowned upon for women. Society has created what it feels like a book of guidelines on how we are supposed to act and talk. If you are not meeting the guidelines, then you get told that you are unladylike. The last time I checked, I still have the biological parts that make me a woman. |