This week’s Student Feature Friday is a group of four incredibly talented students who participated in the 2017 All-Ages Envelope Contest. There were over 700 artists from all over the world and I am pleased to announce that HHS had three finalists and one winner:
Kelley Joslin (1st Place Winner in the 15-17 category)
Sara Kenney (Finalist in the 15-17 category)
Corinne Doucette (Finalist in the 11-14 category)
Caroline Beaudet (Finalist in the 11-14 category)
The contest rules were that the piece had to be an Edward Gorey inspired Halloween theme that expressed his humor, whimsy, ghoulishness, or otherwise bizarre and eccentric style. The goal of the contest was to both recreate Gorey’s art style but more importantly capture his thematic interests and unique character. The reason the contest started was that Gorey himself was fond of letter writing and illustrated postcards and envelopes that he would send to friends.
All of the Art 1 students this year took a field trip to the Edward Gorey House’s Cabinet of Curiosities exhibit which “…showcases a small fraction of Gorey’s assembled objects ranging from fine lithographs to yard sale art, from antiquities to roadside oddities, as well as toys, rocks, tools and, of course books. Gorey found almost everything interesting if they possessed character, or a previous owner’s character, or displayed the Wabi-sabi of the alluring damage wrought by time.” (http://www.edwardgoreyhouse.org)
I had the opportunity to sit down with our students to ask them about the contest, how it influenced their thinking, and to learn more about their process when creating art.
Kelly Joslin (Grade 11)
Q: How did the process of making art for the 2017 All-Ages Envelope Art Contest differ from the art you typically create?
A: Typically I create more abstract things with words and drawings of things so this was different because we had to follow the style of Edward Gorey which is different from the style that I typically use.
Q: How did you discover you had a passion for creating artwork?
A: I have always loved art since I was really little and as I grew I just stuck with it and got better and better over the years.
Q: Which is your favorite experience (HHS class, course elsewhere, exhibit, etc.) with art so far and how did it influence your own aesthetic?
A: I think my favorite experience with art was this year in Mr. Shiff’s class I drew two people with charcoal and wrote a ton of quotes around them and I got really into it and stayed after and came early to work on it. It was a challenge to write words with charcoal and not smudge it so that was definitely my favorite experience with art and it made me realize how much I love to include words or quotes in my artwork.
Q: What advice would you give to students who are interested in creating art but are unsure how to get started?
A: I would say don’t think, just draw because if you think too much about it and start copying other peoples artwork from the internet then its not your own. You just have to not think about it and just go for it.
Sara Kenney (Grade 10)
Q: How did the process of making art for the 2017 All-Ages Envelope Art Contest differ from the art you typically create?
A: The process of making art for the 2017 All-Ages Envelope Art Contest was different than the art I usually create because we used no color, and worked mainly in liquid ink. I usually incorporate a good amount of color in my pieces and this was the first time I had ever worked with liquid ink.
Q: How did you discover you had a passion for creating artwork?
A: I discovered I had a passion for creating artwork at a young age. I started taking art classes in second grade.
Q: Which is your favorite experience (HHS class, course elsewhere, exhibit, etc.) with art so far and how did it influence your own aesthetic?
A: My favorite experience with art so far has been the classes that I have taken at Holliston High School. These are intro to drawing and painting, printmaking, and art 1 honors which I am currently in.
Q: What advice would you give to students who are interested in creating art but are unsure how to get started?
A: The advice I would give to students who are interested in creating art but are unsure how to start are to go in with realistic expectations. You’re not going to be amazing the first time you pick up the pencil, or the paintbrush, but that doesn’t mean that you never will be.
Caroline Beaudet (Grade 9)
Q: How did the process of making art for the 2017 All-Ages Envelope Art Contest differ from the art you typically create?
A: For the envelope contest, the process we used had a lot more steps than I was used to, but the steps helped you to create the best piece that you could. In my art, I usually use the first or second piece as the final, whereas for this we used our third or fourth piece as the final.
Q: How did you discover you had a passion for creating artwork?
A: Last year, was when I really started having all of these ideas for different pieces of art, and then I started trying actually putting these ideas onto paper, and once I did I found that I really enjoyed it. It was also a way to convey a specific mood or feeling that I couldn’t really describe with words, and that’s when I really found my passion for art.
Q: Which is your favorite experience (HHS class, course elsewhere, exhibit, etc.) with art so far and how did it influence your own aesthetic?
A: So far, I think my favorite art experience with art has been the Art 1 class at the high school, because it’s really pushed me to try new things, and to be creative in ways that I haven’t been before. It has also pushed me to try new styles and types of art. It’s influenced me to branch out my art in the future, and create a wider variation of the things that I can draw.
Q: What advice would you give to students who are interested in creating art but are unsure how to get started?
A: I would start by finding something that is a big inspiration, and start creating art around that. I also would say that you can’t expect your art to come out perfectly the very first time, and it’s a process full of trial and error, so don’t get too frustrated with yourself if it doesn’t come out exactly how you want it. Another thing I would do is copy other pictures, because that really helps you learn the logistics of things and how they work and look.
Corinne Doucette (Grade 9)
Q: How did the process of making art for the 2017 All-Ages Envelope Art Contest differ from the art you typically create?
A: I don’t normally do art with ink or anything “paint-like” in general so that was a big change. We also used a different shading technique called cross-hatching. I’ve never shaded like that on any of my projects before so it was fun trying it out.
Q: How did you discover you had a passion for creating artwork?
A: Of course all people have drawn or painted when they were younger, but I started really getting invested with my art in second grade. I started off drawing cartoon characters and my stuffed animals; eventually I drew cartoon animals and over time I drew people.
Q: Which is your favorite experience (HHS class, course elsewhere, exhibit, etc.) with art so far and how did it influence your own aesthetic?
A: I can’t think of a favorite, but I really enjoyed my charcoal projects in art class this year. I’ve never worked with charcoal before so it was interesting experimenting with something new.
Q: What advice would you give to students who are interested in creating art but are unsure how to get started?
A: First off, know that you won’t start off creating something you’re super proud of. It’ll take months, even years to develop your own “style.” Secondly, experiment. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t sit down and experiment with different supplies. If you usually use markers, try painting. If you usually use paint, try charcoal. There’s so many materials you could use and you might even find something that you like more than others.
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