Organization or School Affiliation: Millis High School-Art Dept
Student Name: David Cranton Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: This piece represents how humans treat others differently because of who they are. This is one piece of my work that aligns with this theming of treatment. This particular pieces represents the horrific mistreatment and cruelty by Nazis toward the European Jewish population. Due to a difference in belief, 6 million Jewish people were murdered because of one man’s hatred over their difference
Teacher: Amy Radcliffe
Kitchen
Organization or School Affiliation: Somerville High School
Student Name: Geo Ferguson Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: I've always liked the idea that I'll one day be able to decorate a whole house in my own style. This piece was an exploration into what my future kitchen could look like and it taught me a lot about mixed media and sculpture. Teacher: Lindsey Richard
Tommy
Organization or School Affiliation: Somerville High School
Student Name: Tommy Vandewege Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: The goal of this self portrait was to highlight emotion. I chose to represent myself smiling widely to deliberately capture the imperfections—facial wrinkles, smudged glasses—that make up that emotion. I want to portray unashamed expressions of emotion as positive and necessary, especially when it comes to self-expression. Teacher: Lindsey Richard
Flower
Organization or School Affiliation: Fontbonne the Early College of Boston
Student Name: Kim Patel Grade: Grade 10 Artist Statement: This blossoming flower represents growth and flourishing in life. Each petal contributes to the beauty of the flower, just as each of my milestones contributes to my life. This flower reminds me to take a step back from everything and enjoy the serenity of nature and life. I look at this flower when I want to stop the chaos of my complicated high-school life.
Teacher: Nicole Robertson
Layers
Organization or School Affiliation: Fontbonne the Early College of Boston
Student Name: Teresa McNally Grade: Grade 10 Artist Statement: These oranges, all in different stages and forms, portray my high school experience thus far. Through the act of peeling away layers. It shows the refined outer layer, how I often presented a certain image in order to fit in. As I grew through my mistakes and challenges, my protective layer peeled away, Like the oranges in my painting, I revealed a more delicate and complex core.
Teacher: Nicole Robertson
Clara
Organization or School Affiliation: Fontbonne the Early College of Boston
Student Name: Anabelle Frédérique Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: Growing up it’s easy to lose the joy found in the small things. I chose to paint this nostalgic moment in time showing the laughter and excitement of my friend Clara at age 6 celebrating her birthday. I wanted her to remember what it was like to laugh and be silly without a care in the world.
Teacher: Nicole Robertson
Where Grief Meets Growth
Organization or School Affiliation: Pembroke High School
Student Name: Effie Tombros Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: This piece is meant to display my growth in the time of owning my old childhood dog to the time of owning my current dog. The message of the art is supposed to display the important role that dogs have played in my life and how they overall shaped me as a person. To create this image I used graphite pencils for shading and development, then used a white gel pen for highlights. Teacher: Lauren Savoia
Stella
Organization or School Affiliation: Pembroke High School
Student Name: Emerson Thwing Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: This piece depicts my beloved dog, Stella. I took a picture reference of Stella then used the picture to help inform the drawing. I used colorful ballpoint pens to create the texture of the fur and the details in her eyes. I layered different colors to create depth and value in the image, choosing bright colors that I thought best represented my dog and her personality. Teacher: Lauren Savoia
Penny
Organization or School Affiliation: Pembroke High School
Student Name: Jordan Ritchie Grade: Grade 10 Artist Statement: This image is of my beloved pet cat, Penny. I chose to use mixed media elements of a watercolor background and scratch board for the subject matter of the cat. I experimented with using different line qualities and tool pressure techniques to create a wide range of values in this piece. This was my first attempt using scratch board and I found this creative process to be very satisfying. Teacher: Lauren Savoia
How Are You Feeling?
Organization or School Affiliation: Pembroke High School
Student Name: Noelle Kay Grade: Grade 11 Artist Statement: The hands gripping the apple angrily depict the self-loathing people experience in a depression, the thorns represent the fear of revealing your feelings as it may hurt you or or others. I stretched a 20x20 inch canvas. Then, I looked at pictures of apples and took pictures of my own hands to use as a reference for my sketch. I used acrylic paint, watering it down to achieve the ombre background. Teacher: Lauren Savoia
Punk is Wild
Organization or School Affiliation: Pembroke High School
Student Name: Cameron Landolfi Grade: Grade 11 Artist Statement: Through clay, glaze, metal, fabric, and pure teenage rage I’ve created this piece. The animals depicted in my sculpture are a bat, bear, and fox, representing the free and non-conformist ideologies that are born through art. I feel personally connected to these animals and the punk subculture as they are unapologetically themselves with no care for what others could think. Teacher: Lauren Savoia
Well Loved
Organization or School Affiliation: Oliver Ames High School
Student Name: Knese Betts Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: Throughout my life my mom called my torn up and faded childhood stuffed animal “well loved.” That memory inspired this piece. The two stuffed animals are the exact same, except one is full of wear and tear, and the other is brand new. The contrast reflects time’s imprint as a nostalgic reflection perfect for my senior year reflecting the comfort of my childhood while I grow closer to adulthood.
Teacher: Kristyn Shea
Teenage Dream
Organization or School Affiliation: Oliver Ames High School
Student Name: Juniper Misener Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: “Teenage Dream” is a recreation of my bedroom on a miniature scale. My room is my safe space, filled with references to every version of myself. Creating a space for myself where I fit in has been really important to me, being queer and alternative has contributed to lots of my interests and decorations. This piece celebrates identity, comfort, and everything that makes a room feel like home.
Teacher: Kristyn Shea
Nothing Hates You
Organization or School Affiliation: Methuen Public Schools
Student Name: Arisleidy Almonte Grade: Grade 12 Artist Statement: When anyone first gets on the wheel they’re bound to fail especially their first couple times. I chose to still learn with all the frustration and disappointments it came with. Crafting something out of my own hands then having it be destroyed teaches you to let go. It forces a different perspective and teaches you to learn from the broken pieces, choosing to learn and putting those skills and fee Teacher: Stephanie Themeles
Peter's Fox
Organization or School Affiliation: Methuen Public Schools
Student Name: Samantha Pratt Grade: Grade 10 Artist Statement: For my entire life, I’ve always gotten lost in books. Sometimes, I think the stories I’ve read control my own narrative. It’s almost as if the characters I get to know and the words authors write guide my thoughts and my hands as I work. In this way, I think making art is like reading a book. I get lost in the details and the perfections of every piece I make. Teacher: Stephanie Themeles
