Paulina
Central High School, Grade 11
Shedding Old Skin
Ink on paper, 12” x 16”

This Drawing shows the feeling of stepping from an unfortunate, old year, into the new, hopeful year. This transition between years was especially important from last year to this new one, since so many bad things had happened in 2020, so I was very hopeful for 2021 while creating this piece.

Naomi
Central Senior High, Grade 9
Precious Perched Pointillism Parrot
Tempera paint, 10” x 8”

This painting is a portrait of my bird, perched outside on a branch. This represents freedom. The feathers floating around him suggest he just landed from flying free and the bright colors portray the happiness that the open world brings. Sometimes I feel trapped, but I remember, like my bird, the people that love me can set me free.

Sadie
Central Senior High, Grade 9
Mythical Mirage
Graphite on paper, 12” x 8”

This piece is a reference towards my love of fantasy. In this drawing, I wanted to show how something that is not inherently magical or special can bring about a whimsical, make-believe feeling if you look at it the right way. I used tons of contrast and more cartoonish elements to help accentuate this theme.

Maya
Central Senior High, Grade 12
Girl and Her Flower
Oil on board, 11” x 24”

My painting was inspired by the artwork of Takashi Murakami and highlights the role of consumerism and iconization in present-day media and how it shapes people. The imagery that conveys my original idea is that of the figure bent over supporting the flower on her stomach. This to me represents my original idea of ‘bending over backward’ to support an idea or person popularized by the media today.

Tony
Central Senior High, Grade 12
Interwoven
Graphite, ink, and marker on paper, 22.2" x 30"

Inspired by my parents’ stories about Japan and Julie Mehretu’s lively multi-layered drawings about society, I explored the religious and sociological facets of Japanese culture. This work captures the spiritual metaphysics of Japanese culture in an energetic and emotional presentation. By utilizing multi-layered drawing on large paper, Interwoven conveys both the vast power of Japanese Kami and its underlying presence in everything-- be it time, space, matter and interpersonal relationships.

Lila
Central Senior High, Grade 11
Fall Perspective
Digital photography, 8” x 10”

There is a dark and light perspective to art. This photo helped me realize the seasons can influence emotion. Fall conveys dark with shortened daylight, and the colors of nature keep it light.

Cerenity
Como Park Senior High, Grade 12
Show’s Over, Kids!
Digital photography, 10” x 8”

When I took this picture, I made up this little story in my head. Imagine that this place is an old, local theater that everyone loves so dearly. Every Tuesdays and Thursdays, the theater bustles a lot more compared to the other days because those are the days when everyone’s favorite shows are live. The theater closes on the weekends so the employees who work there will be able to spend time with their families. Since the theater and buildings looked aged, I wanted to capture that feeling.

Paola
Como Park Senior High, Grade 12
Pink Rebellion
Digital painting, 8.2” x 7”

Painting with a limited color range is difficult but it challenges your mind, making you think outside the box and improve how you approach painting. Pink was a color I had very limited experience with, I decided to use it to create an aesthetically pleasing artwork.

Audrey
Como Park Senior High, Grade 12
Rings
Digital photography, 11” x 13”

My grandma has always guided my artwork; she herself is an artist who works with nature as her tools. I wanted to use layers to show her depth of knowledge and the imagery of trees to demonstrate her connection to the woods where she lives.

David
Como Park Senior High, Grade 10
Among Us
Marker, 8.5" x 11"

In moments of life or death, who can you trust? An artwork that represents, in my personal opinion, how a game of “Among Us” goes. You never know who is your friend and who is scheming a plan behind your back.

Kashia
Como Park Senior High, Grade 12
Deeper Value
Marker, 12” x 14”

There is always a significant value of what makes an art piece more real. The procedure of this ink drawing captures the concept of shades through multiple techniques I used such as scribbling, cross-hatching, and stippling. After carefully observing the portrait of this girl, I was able to piece down the darker and light areas. These three techniques combined created the illusion of depth and value, bringing out the realism of the art.

Izzie
Como Park Senior High, Grade 11
Watercolor
Watercolor and gel pen, 10" x 7"

I drew this piece to show the beauty in a simple thing. These paint tubes were scattered on my desk and I felt motivated to paint them just to appreciate their part in my day to day life as well as their representation of my love of art. My messy art desk has a lot of meaning to me and I wanted to represent that in a still life.

Abdulahi
Como Park Senior High, Grade 11
Cheetah
Chalk pastel, 6" x 9"

I drew this to make my drawing glow while portraying a cheetah in it. I was always optimistic about this animal and I finally portrayed it as an art. I drew this by transforming a preserved cheetah at an exhibit and tried to put down all details about it.

Arianna
Creative Arts Secondary School, Grade 9
Giving a Hand
Digital drawing, 8” x 10”

The diagonal pliers standing represents giving a hand to somebody, helping somebody take another step. The reason why it's darker around the handles is because when you’re using diagonal pliers you use the handle to clamp off the wires/etc, making you cut off unnecessary things, implying that in my drawing they represent helping someone with removing the superfluous things like pressure.

Hsae Nay Htoo
Como Park Senior High, Grade 9
Flowers
Chalk pastel, triptych, each 6" x 9"

Éowyn
Creative Arts Secondary School, Grade 10
Ripley’s Courage
Colored pencil, 7.5” x 9”

It can be very difficult to have courage during times of trouble, but it is always important to step up and do what is right. While making this piece, I learned a lot about how light reflects off of different objects and how it affects the color of those objects. When light shines upon an object, the result is often a beautiful combination of different colors, shadows, and values.

Madison
Creative Arts Secondary School, Grade 10
The Moon
Digital drawing, using ibisPaint X, 1200 x 955 px

My piece is a moon goddess who weeps for humanity's future. What will they do to her and their planet? May the mother of the stars tell her story.

Alondra
Gordon Parks High School, Grade 12
Reflection of the Two Souls
Digital photography, 3.125" x 5.5"

I discovered multiple forms of nature while in the process of nature. The reflection of the picture shows true colors.

Hulda
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 12
Eastern Africa; Black Crown
Watercolor and pen, 10" x 12"

This is a portrait of a young woman, who holds power and is celebrated by her people. The type of clothing and accessories is worn by brides and people of power. The hair style is very formal which represents power. This East African traditional outfit and henna on her hand represents that she is celebrated and is mostly practiced during Ceremonies in Eritrean culture. While the red silk on the edge of her dress and scarf represents the royal she is.

Isabella
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 10
Self Portrait
Mixed media and acrylic on canvas, 12” x 16”

This piece focuses on identity. There are some things about me that will always stay the same. The background is a collage made up of old letters and notes that are emotionally significant to me. Experiences I have had and people in my life make me the person I am today. There are other aspects of my identity that are ever changing, represented by the flowers.

Quinn
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 11
Studied Through the Screen
Acrylic on canvas, 8” x 10”

After a year at home, myself and my peers have needed to build relationships, introduce ourselves, and be evaluated through a screen. Studying my face through electronic images and midnight FaceTime calls, this self-portrait was also born out of a digital portrayal of myself. This work explores the blurred, muddled version of me through a blue-light screen.

Spencer
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 12
The Optimist
Oil pastel on canvas board, 8” x 10”

This piece is trying to capture one of the several sides of my personality. When things are going well, either with my art, with school, or in relationships, I am very optimistic. I feel in control, proud of myself, I feel happy. That being said I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, so when things start to go bad the pessimist comes out. I start to doubt myself and lose confidence in my abilities, or who I am. Although both sides of me still exist the more I acknowledge them the better I feel.

Naleya
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 9
Self portrait
Ebony pencil on paper, 11” x 14”

My intention with this drawing was to try my best at one of my first attempts of realistic art. I discovered that I actually like creating realistic art along with my own style I've created over the years. This drawing was an opportunity to show what I can do and I gave it my best shot, and I'm really proud of it.

Xander
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 10
Self Portrait
Graphite and charcoal on paper, 9” x 10”

Throughout the creation of this piece, I learned a lot about realism and the art of portraiture. I was able to improve myself as an artist by exploring the multitude of graphite drawing techniques to portray more emotion in my artwork.

Peter
Highland Park Senior High, Grade 12
Self Portrait
Graphite and soft pastel on paper, 5.5” x 8.5”

In the process of making this, I wanted to practice proportion and realism. I also learned how to apply highlights to a drawing and give it a sense of volume. Using toned paper helped add to the range of values I could use. Since I'm not used to doing realistic drawings, I learned a lot throughout the creation of this self portrait.

Semaj’nae
Humboldt High School, Grade 10
The Unspoken Words of an African American Woman
Marker and colored pencils, 18” x 24” 

My goal with this piece is to let people know that every black woman has different insecurities and that we also need to be treated with mutual respect. We come from a country with horrendous stereotypes, black women have been looked down upon for years. I'm just here to let you know as a black woman I've witnessed many like me being ridiculed and abused and I feel like it's our job to tell them they're wrong. Nobody knows our stories, nobody knows our journeys, our climbs, our downfalls and then after all that, we´re still looked at the same. We need to know the differences between our souls and our bodies. We can glamorize our shell, we can hide behind beauty, we can hide behind fancy clothes and hoop earrings but we can not change our souls and what we feel we want to say but can't. I made this piece to show you that we can be all these things but just know there is a soul behind that shell that has been through more than you can imagine.

Pa Jar
Johnson Senior High, Grade
Only I Can See
Colored pastel, 8.5” x 5.5”

This piece shows that sometimes it’s hard to see what people see in you. In this modern world, social media has influenced many people about the way they look and how they should see themselves, rather than finding their own way to look at themselves and appreciate it.

Leona
Johnson Senior High, Grade
Triptych
Sketchbook paper, triptych, each 7” x 8.8”

The habitats of our world could change in many ways depending on how we as humans chose to live. This triptych explores the feelings I have regarding environmental changes.

Raeann
Johnson Senior High, Grade 12
Humpty Dumpty
Sketchbook, 5.5” x 8.5”

I wanted to create a full visual representation of a person letting go and how it might look and feel for a person that is doing so. It is kind of more of a personal thing and it is something that everyone deals with; having something, someone or a situation that they can't seem to let go, forgive and move on, but they really need and should let it go to make themselves happier in the present.

Coraima
Johnson Senior High, Grade 11
Dragon Eye
Shrink film and marker

This represents my interest in how beautiful dragons and flowers can be.

Pa Dong
Johnson Senior High, Grade 11
The Tree Flower
Shrink film and marker

The tree flower symbolizes the meaning of my name and where I got it from. What I discover In the process of creating this piece was that I feel very attached and happy while making this flower.

Jaquelyn
Johnson Senior High, Grade 11
Flowers
Shrink film and permanent marker, 4” x 4” 

I wanted to create a piece that represents my childhood. Flowers remind me of summer. I had amazing and fun summers with family, especially my grandma. My grandma lived with my family and I and every summer she would plant flowers and vegetables, so the flower piece represented her. While creating this I discovered my interests in art. I pieced my memories and connections together and created an art piece that now has sentimental and a deep meaning to it.

Pakou
LEAP High School, Grade 11
Hmong Girl
Colored pencil and graphite, 8.5" x 11"

The story I want to tell is about Hmong history and culture. The girl is wearing traditional Hmong clothes. Hmong clothes are very beautiful. At Hmong new year Hmong people wear their best clothes to go find their partner. The flowers in the picture are poppy flowers. Hmong people used to grow the flowers to make opium. Hmong people use the opium as medicine and as money. I wanted to show my culture and how beautiful the clothes are. I wanted to use color pencils because the colors are nice and easy to use. I look at some of my old Hmong clothes and draw them. I try my best to draw realistic to show how beautiful the clothes are. I discovered connections to my family. I learned how my parents grew up having to grow the flowers.

They have to take care of the flowers and know how to use them to make the medicine. I learned they had to work very hard. Sometimes people used the medicine too much and they needed to use it all the time. Many people don't know about Hmong people. Many Hmong people don't know about Hmong history. I want to make art that teaches history﹣the history of the Hmong people.

Xeng
LEAP High School, Grade 11
Beautiful White Snow
Colored pencil and graphite, 8.5" x 11"

The story told about the first time I saw snow fall in my first winter in America. It told about my first time touching and playing with snow. It was cold and deadly, but at the same time very beautiful. It is a new experience for me because in my home country of Laos we have a very hot climate year round, but in the USA there are a lot of different seasons throughout the year. Each individual season is interesting and unique in their own way. I love them all! I picked realistic style because I wanted it to bring out the true beauty in Nature. I used color pencils because they are more fine and easier to control than crayons. I used lines straight for the house, textures for the trees and snow. I used value for my hair and my pants. I discovered how to use different types of patterns to draw and enriched my artwork.