HIGH SCHOOL ART INSPIRES

I walked into the Visual Arts Gallery at MHCC on April 13. I was there to check out the annual High School Artists exhibit, featuring regional high school students’ work. And when I turned the corner, I was in awe of every single art piece displayed in the exhibit. Even if I didn’t understand what every piece was saying I felt the emotion, whether it be sadness, happiness. Anger, or loneliness. I felt all of it.

These sculptures, paintings, drawings, pictures, were all so individualistic. They were all saying their own thing. They all meant something different to every person who walked by. During the time I spent in the Gallery I could see the pieces light up everyone in the room, especially the parents of the artists. It makes me tear up just typing this out. Looking at the parents, you could see the pride in their faces.

I asked a couple of the artists to share some of their inspiration for their pieces. One piece that really spoke to me was one called “The Dawn,” created by Megan Maroon of Sam Barlow High School.

Maroon described her inspiration: “I have always loved being creative as a kid. Art always brings joy to my heart,” she said. “I love this painting because of the beautiful light.”

Her painting is of the ocean. It is absolutely beautiful, the darkness that goes to light and the crashing waves of the ocean. I could have stared at it forever. The piece got an honorable mention award in the exhibit.

Another artwork that was really inspiring was done by McKenna Ryan Reynolds High School. Her piece, “Back Pain,” is the spine of a skeleton. Her inspiration: “I have scoliosis. I constantly struggle with back pain. I wanted to add color, warmth, happiness, and beauty even if I didn’t choose it,” she said. The piece resonated a lot with me for many reasons and I’m sure it did with a lot of other people, too. It is an amazing piece.

A mixed media piece earned Best in Show: “The Ukranian Boy.” This was by far the most emotionally impacting art piece I have ever seen. There wasn’t much on the canvas, but it spoke volumes about what people are going though in Ukraine. It’s absolutely horrible there, and this piece captures all of it.

Colin Givens from Sandy High School explained how he was inspired to. create the work.

“I mixed my empathy with the people of Ukraine with my cousin’s courage to go there to take photos. The boy in my art is (from) a picture he took,” he said.

It is truly beautiful what people can come up with in good times or in bad – it shows others that beauty can still be made from ashes. It’s amazing.

Jennifer Gillia-Cutshall, the MHCC Gallery coordinator, agrees: “It is interesting that there is so much passion and (these young artists) all have such a deep connection to their pieces,” she said. “Especially for their age group, it’s phenomenal.”

This art show is amazing, and I am so grateful I got the chance to go take photos of the artists and their pieces.

The high school exhibit is open to anyone, free of charge, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, April 28.

Lindsay Leeman