MARYSVILLE — Hundreds of Marysville-Pilchuck High School students got to show off the fruits of their artistic labor to their peers during the school’s May 20 art show.
M-PHS art teacher Karen Epperson explained that the students whose artwork was on display ranged from special needs to advanced placement.
“It ran the whole gamut,” Epperson said. “All these kids are so proud, and for a number of them, art is one of the few areas in which they feel like they can excel.”
The media on display ranged from ceramics and other sculptures to paintings, sketches and digital art. A number of student artists had to display reproductions of their works, because the originals were being judged for national-level competitions.
Kiely Condon won the Painting Award for showcasing what she saw as “the colors of life,” through watercolor and acrylic paintings, and colored pencil and charcoal sketches, of flowers and nature.
“Plants are really rich with life,” said Condon, who only started studio art in her senior year. She believes she might be able to incorporate her enthusiasm for painting into her prospective career as an interior designer and architect, but in the meantime, she considers it a fun hobby.
Fellow senior Alex Merkt received the AP, Department and Principal’s awards for her concentration, which began as a metallic paint reflection on her trip to India, but became a colored pencil study of eyes.
“Colored pencils are really fast for me,” said Merkt, who was content to let her brother be the artist of the family until last year. “Whether it’s human eyes or animal eyes, they’re very attractive, because they’re the first things we look at. It’s a cliche to say that eyes are the windows into the soul, but when you look at someone’s eyes, you can feel like you know them and are drawn to them, and that you want to know more.”
Merkt plans on becoming an elementary school teacher and hopes to use art to teach her students about other people’s cultures.
Samantha Miller’s multimedia artwork won the AP and Judges’ Choice awards for bringing popular children’s books to life.
“Since we’re all going through tough times right now, I chose to illustrate books that make people smile and take them to another place,” said Miller, who’s been drawing since childhood. “I polled my peers, teachers and family members to find out what books made them happy.”
Miller’s goal is to illustrate books for a living, while possibly doing advertising and commission artwork on the side.
