2023 Honors Visual Art Exhibition

Paw Shee
AGAPE High School
Grade 11
Bu Paw
Drypoint on Paper, 5” x 6”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

After making many types of prints in class (collagraphs, relief prints and monotypes) it was fun to return to a print that was more like drawing. You can use drypoint needles like a pencil or pen. This print is a portrait of my husband from a photo taken when he was a boy in Thailand.

Ruby 
Central Senior High School
Grade 12
Tell Me What To Feel
Paper Cutouts, Watercolor, String, 13” x 11”

I have a hard time showing my emotions, I'm not good at talking about them. I wanted to show what they feel like to me. They are more complex than just sad and mad. Emotions have layers so I made this piece have them too. I really wanted to emphasize that part so I got the idea to cut out parts of paper and layer them. There are also a lot of hidden things in both the art and emotions that maybe we don’t see when experiencing those feelings. 

Zoë 
Central Senior High School
Grade 11
Patience
Ceramic and Mixed Media, 10” x 2.5” x 3.5”

My piece captures the essence of antiquated fishing at a local Minnesota fishing hole. I pursued a more relaxed and old-fashioned theme by creating the tweed fishing jacket to give viewers a gentle reminder to step away from the routine of a busy life. I personally find this piece important because I aspire to be more patient so that I can learn how to fully enjoy creation and trust God more in my life. 

Eliza Hutmacher 
Central Senior High School
Grade 9
Scream of Terror
Pencil, 11” x 17”

This artwork was made by using up one pencil, it depicts a dragon with its jaws open and claws extended. This piece is inspired by the thought of existential dread that lurks behind one’s self. I feel like I captured this by making the background dark, with the dragon skulking on the side creating a dark eerie tone.

Sofie
Como Park Senior High School
Grade 9
The Headless Girl
Acrylic Painting, 14” x 11”

I wanted the girl to be apathetic, and almost joyful when it came to her demeanor adding to the mystery of what happened. I learned the importance of building layers instead of leaving flat color and making more visible brush strokes. This painting is important to me because of the time I spent on it and I feel that it perfectly captured what I imagined.

Nia 
Como Park Senior High School
Grade 9
Bubble
Pencil Drawing, 18” x 18”

This is a self-portrait of me inside a bubble that popped. I am also holding a doll of myself that is coming undone. My expression is sad because I am not ready for the real world. I know the world moves fast and I am not alone in this state of confusion as teens like me to try to navigate this scary world.

Dejnag Yang
Gordon Parks High School
Grade 12
Traditional Dance
Photography Series, 11’ x 17’

The story my art tells is the raw passion and commitment there is in traditional dancing. I wanted to capture the vibrant and colorful elements in each of the dancers’ outfits because they’re all so beautiful and unique in their own ways. There are two Chinese costumes and a traditional Hmong outfit displayed in my photos. Something I discovered about myself is that I am a perfectionist when it comes to making art. I always want everything to look perfect and if it doesn’t, I start to freak out. I carefully edited each photo, messing around with the vibrance and saturation to really capture that colorful element, the texture of the background to make my models pop a bit more and the whites and highlights on each of the models. This artwork is important to me because I used to be a traditional dancer as well and I wanted to show the beauty of my culture through these photos as well. Dance has always been a big part of my life and although I am no longer dancing, I still have so much love for it.

Eden Mulugeta
Harding Senior High School
Grade 12
Butterfly Eyes
Pen and Graphite, 18” x 24”

My artwork is a representation of someone seeing the world through the wings of a butterfly, meaning they only see the beauty of the world. While creating this artwork I wanted to add contrast between the background and the drawing by keeping my ink black. I added different textures like the woman’s hair to make my drawing pop out more. I used many different sizes of ink pens and found it challenging because you can’t erase ink. When I created this piece it came straight from my imagination and I feel like it represents a part of me.

Desire Her
Harding Senior High School
Grade 10
Skull
Tempera Paint on Watercolor Paper, 9” x 12”

I like the circles and swirls and the different ways of how the shades look on top of each other. If I were to change one thing it would be my random splotches. 

Lillie-Grace Temple
Highland Park Senior High School
Grade 11
Self Portrait
Digital Painting, 12” x 18”
SPPS Award

My artwork is a stylized digital self-portrait I created in Adobe Illustrator. I used a photo for reference. I normally don’t like highly realistic work, but this image is stylized in a way that is both realistic and a little cartoony. This work is important to me because it shows my efforts in getting out of my comfort zone and advancing into learning new styles of art.

Flynn Cunningham
Highland Park Senior High School
Grade 10
Stop and Look
Graphite Drawing, 7.5” x 10.5” 
 
I first started drawing when I saw a friend draw and liked their work. My preference is to draw things stylized, for me it is more personal, but I am happy that I did something outside of my comfort zone. I don't normally do a lot of realistic things and this had a lot of shading in it. When we first went out to photograph cars I really liked the close cropping which showed both the light and the tire parts. It feels sort of personal. It is in your face, but I shaded it with a softer and gentler feeling. It was a bit intimidating at first to draw a realistic car, but through making this art, I learned that I can draw anything if I put my mind to it.

Mimi Aung
Humboldt High School
Grade 11
Untitled
Pencil, Marker, 19” x 19.5”

The goal of the project was to create expressive line drawing. The most important part was the vision of many lines that were on the artwork. The artwork represents me in a way as lately I’ve been quite drained but there’s still colors in my life due to my friends and loved ones. My favorite part of the artwork is the girl. 

Paw Hsa Blut
Humboldt High School
Grade 11
Untitled
Marker, 11” x 18” 

I wanted to make an artwork of my mom’s memories of Karen people living in a camp in Thailand. The people around the village are weaving, warming by the fire, or working. There is a house in the style of other homes there. You can see the mountains in the background. I am really proud of the way the house turned out. If I had to do this again, I would change the color of the ground as the dirt isn’t a light enough color for what it really looked like. 

Arianna Cruz Zepeda
LEAP High School
Grade 10
Cabbage
Photography, 8.5” x 11”

This art tells a story about how cabbage is a symbol of beauty below the surface. It is both awesome and ordinary. When I created this art, I discovered that it caught my attention to vegetables. This artwork is important to me because I saw how it reproduced little by little.

Nox (Lydia) Gebben Green
Open World Learning Community
Grade 12
NOX
Colored Pencil, 12” x 18”
SPPS Award

In this self-portrait, I wanted to portray 1. myself, but also 2. the beauty of what I was. So, I used a picture reference that I felt pretty in and drew that with colors I thought were pretty as well: pink and orange. Since realism wasn’t an art style I did all the time, I wanted to use a medium I had used plenty before and was comfortable with to try even it out. So, colored pencils it was. While doing the art, I emphasized the hair, lips, glasses, and eye by making them darker than the rest of the drawing. I did that to emphasize the parts of me I thought were most beautiful. And to create unity,  I used pink and orange throughout the whole drawing.  

Faith Vang
Washington Technology Magnet School
Grade 10
“Things I Adore”- ‘Layers of Me’ Portrait Collage
Digital Photography, 8.5” x 11”

This photo of me was taken when I was in my room, a place I love very much. The pictures reflected on my face are sunflowers, a cat, and me with a hamster filter. I picked these images because they mean alot to me and show my personality in a visual way. I love sunflowers and the bright yellow that they produce. They give a sense of joy and motivation. I love cats because they are really cute and I love the different personalities you will be able to see once you have gained their trust. The hamster photo is humor; a joke that I found funny and also shows people that I can be pretty funny at times. Together, they show the layers of me.

Astrid
AGAPE High School
Grade 10
Hora de Comer
Linoleum Print on Paper, 8” x 6”
SPPS Award

I picked this picture to make a print of because I liked how happy my son Jayden looked with my brother Jeyson. When I started doing this print I really didn’t understand how it was going to work. After printing the second color it started to make sense. This artwork is important to me because it is the first one I made that feels like a complete art piece that didn’t feel like an assignment. 

Minna Cook 
Central Senior High School
Grade 11
Sacred Heart
Reclaimed Fabric, Acrylic Paint, Pencil, Unstretched Canvas, 40” x 14” 

This artwork “Scared Heart” is intended to be a rumination on virginity and purity in Christianity. I chose to use a wedding dress as my medium for this piece because of the religious aspects of Christian weddings. A marriage is ordained by God and the bride is metaphorically “given” away to be possessed by the husband, an example of the misogynistic idea that women belong to men. The white in the dresses is also symbolic of purity, which is why I chose to use a dress that was both white and pink, it's as if the dress isn't completely pure. Other than the theological implications of the dress, there are also catholic references in the pieces painted on canvas. I painted the shape of the sacred heart in the middle of the dress. This heart is often seen in paintings of the Virgin Mary. Mary is used as the “ideal” woman figure, she is motherly but also a virgin. She is pure and a grown woman. This paradoxical idea figures into the concept of virginity and purity so I chose to invoke it in my painting.

Ruby 
Central Senior High School
Grade 12
Tell Me What To Feel
Paper Cutouts, Watercolor, String, 13” x 11”

I have a hard time showing my emotions, I'm not good at talking about them. I wanted to show what they feel like to me. They are more complex than just sad and mad. Emotions have layers so I made this piece have them too. I really wanted to emphasize that part so I got the idea to cut out parts of paper and layer them. There are also a lot of hidden things in both the art and emotions that maybe we don’t see when experiencing those feelings. 

Finn 
Central Senior High School
Grade 11
The Relationship
Ceramic and Glaze, 5.5” x 4” x 4”
Ordway Center Award

One can often imagine a relationship with another person, but when creating this piece I wanted to portray a relationship in a physical way. I don't believe a relationship is linear and that is what I attempted to invoke through this piece. The curves and separation of the piece represent the highs and lows that occur in any relationship.  

Isabella Sundahl
Central Senior High School
Grade 11
Our World
Color Pencils, 9” x 12” 
The Minnesota Museum of Art Award

I made this piece of art to tell the story of something greater than me. The boy holding the earth in his hands represents our youth, and how someday this big grand world will be ours. The majority of us consider world issues bigger than ourselves, so why try and change it, right? When I look at my piece I see unity even though there’s a lot going on at first glance. With that said it takes more than one person to change the world, but it only takes one to begin the change.

Greta 
Como Park Senior High School
Grade 11
Downtown Glow
Digital Photograph, 18” x 24”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

My photograph shows the bright vibrant lights of the Downtown Minneapolis skyline. Throughout my creative process, I learned how to adjust my shutter speed very low to get the maximum amount of light through my sensor and chose to utilize my tripod and timer photo setting to keep the camera as still as possible when capturing this frame. I layered another photo I took the same night, of the moon, to the saturated edit of the cityscape to create dramatic emotion. This piece of artwork is important to me because it fully shows the beauty of the city lights contrasting with the dark night sky.

Reserve
Grade 9
Como Park Senior High School
Light
Digital Painting, 5” x 7”

This painting was inspired by femininity. I enjoy the peace of being yourself instead of trying to fit into how people perceive women to look like and wear. I used realism, lighting, and texture in this piece. 

Da’Marj Robinson
Gordon Parks High School
Grade 12
Protest
Photography Series, 11” x 17”

My art tells a story of being persistent through the storm, no matter how many times they try to shut you up you can still find a way to be heard if you stand strong with those around you.

I feel I discovered a sense of activism that was new to me. It made me feel powerful and solidified. We stood together and marched in the name of peace and hope for a change to come.

This artwork is important to me because it shows what we’re capable of when we stand together. Alone we may not be heard yet if we stand United as one, the sky's the limit.

Naidelin Manriquez Ramirez 
Harding Senior High School
Grade 11 
Profile Of Anubis 
Charcoal on Paper, 18”x 24” 
 
My intention for this artwork was to make Anubis known from a different perspective. Anubis is usually associated with death and evil, which death is part of what he is as a god, but he was rather quite the opposite of evil, he just helped the poor pass into the underworld or afterlife as many may know it as. Death is such an important thing we seem to overlook maybe because we’re afraid but the beauty of it astonished me. 

Mena Sellers
Harding Senior High School
Grade 9
Bubbles
Tempera on Watercolor Paper, 9” x 12”

In this artwork I learned how to control my paint and the different values of grey.  Bubbles represent my personality and that was the inspiration for this piece. The thing I like most about this work is the variety of circle sizes and the calmness the painting process brought me.

Satori Soulisak-Hoang
Highland Park Senior High School
Grade 12
Lunar Bloom
Ceramic, 5” x 5” x 7 .5”

My artwork Lunar Bloom portrays my identity and the traditional aspects of my cultures. On this vase I used underglaze and sgraffito to carve some traditional symbols from my Vietnamese and Lao heritage. While creating this artwork I found I wanted to learn more about my culture, and the stories beneath these symbols I had carved. I am proud of this work, because it shows my cultural identity and symbols that represent my heritage.

Megan Wingate
Highland Park Senior High School
Grade 10
Highlights
Graphite Drawing, 7.25” x 7.25” 
 
I've been drawing since I was five and love doing many different art styles. The first time I ever blended was when I worked through the Eagan Art House with charcoal and blending sticks. I find art is a nice way to express myself and art can calm people down. Gridding is definitely one of my favorite techniques. I love using pencil and the blending stick, because that is where everything just starts blending together and looks realistic. I also love adding highlights with the eraser to make the artwork stand out. When I see this car, it reminds me of my dad’s car. The car seems to have an expression, sort of serious. I didn’t realize that I could make art that was so personal.

Eh Ler Soe
Humboldt High School
Grade 11
Formosity
Marker, 6” x 6 “ 

My Art tells the story of simple beauty and how it can come in many different forms. While creating my art I found that many beautiful things in life come in simple forms. I also learned that making art is a calming experience. Not only that but it brings me much joy to see the completion of my artwork. To see the final product. It brings me a lot of happiness.

Yingkong Chang
Humboldt High School
Grade 11
Untitled
Watercolor, 11” x 17”
Ordway Center Award

This painting shows three different things of my culture. The background shows Shaman paper. The chicken is there as a sacrifice alongside the equipment we use to talk to the spirit world. Lastly I put in our instrument. I am proud of this artwork because it informs people about Hmong spiritual practices about which they may have no idea. If I did this again I would draw the Shaman paper folded as boats. In my culture those are considered money in the afterworld and are used during funerals. I think I painted the chicken the best, I had never painted a chicken before.

Erick Santamaria Santos
LEAP High School
Grade 11
Homeless Encampment
Photography Series, 8.5” x 11”

My name is Erick, and I am from Honduras. The reason I took these pictures is because I want to show how difficult life can be for people. My story tells about people that don't have what many of us take for granted: shelter and a place to stay at night. These people do not have a place to call home. At the beginning, I was nervous and shaking just to think about this small project that I had started, as I’d never done an art project like this before. This project is really important to me. The reason this project is important is because it opened my mind and showed me that there is good that needs to be done and people that need the help.

Calvin 
Open World Learning Community
Grade 10
Penciled Stillness
Pencil, 12” x 18”

My art depicts a blank-faced boy in nature, highlighting the black and white contrast and how nature can soothe the person's emotional state to be perceived as calm. When I created this, it was challenging because misinterpreting facial expressions can be confusing, but by altering the environment in my artwork it has resulted in depictions of different emotions if used correctly. This Art is important to me because it shows that the human emotion can be different based on how the faces are seen and the location of the individual, matching or mixing their environments.

Jack Xiong
Washington Technology Magnet School
Grade 9
“Softboy” - ‘Layers of Me’ Portrait Collage
Digital Photography, 8.5” x 11”

All of the photos in my photo collage are original photos taken by me; including the background landscape photo of Duluth. I like going places especially if it’s outside of my neighborhood and I like to explore new places when I get the chance. The small yellow pet stuffed animal is named Squishy. I really like squishing him and it was given to me by my significant other. Finally, the selfie of me is conveying a message of me just being me. Just someone who loves taking pictures. I used techniques in Adobe Photoshop to merge my photos so they appear to fit together. Tools such as the opacity tool to make it transparent, the magnetic lasso tool for cropping, and the smart filter to adjust the color in my background photo of Duluth and other photos on the different layers.

Alysen 
AGAPE High School
Grade 12
Tuka
Linoleum Print on Paper, 6” x 4”

This is an image of my little sister we call Tuka. It was taken during her first photo shoot. I love her joyful nature and facial expression. This is my first multi-color print. What I found surprising was the “before and after” transformation, from photograph to relief print. 

Kajai Yang
Central Senior High School
Grade 10
Artist Mindset
Ceramic and Glaze, 6.5” x 4.5” x 4.5”

My art tells the story that you shouldn’t give up but try new things because there is always something at the end for you to enjoy. What I discovered about myself is that I am not a creative person so during the time I was doing this project, I learned to take my time and not rush because when I took my time I noticed that things have to fit each other to be able to make my final project. The artwork is important to me because it was letting me think outside of the box so when I started adding things that I liked, I felt proud that I was letting my creativity take over the project.

Mason Tedford
Central Senior High School
Grade 10
Grown, Not Faded
Acrylic on paper, 8.5" x 11"
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

This painting represents how we grow as people. When we're kids, we're full of energy, we're naïve, but as we grow up, that changes. Our colors may shift in hue as we change and age, but we never lose our saturation, and I think that's important to remember.

Ellery
Como Park Senior High School
Grade 11
Crossing the Tracks
Digital Photograph, Magazine, Oil Pastel, 8.5” x 11”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

My artwork shows the route I’ve taken to school since kindergarten. While creating this collage, I learned how to combine different media to showcase and emphasize the element of space. In addition, expanding this photograph took many hours and taught me the patience of art. This piece is important to me because it reminds me of my childhood in Saint Paul.

Isabella 
Como Park Senior High School
Grade 
Melanie
Pencil and Chalk, 12” x 16”

Thee Xiong
Gordon Parks High School
Grade 11
Untitled
Photography Series, 11” x 17”
SPPS Award

In all seriousness, all the photos I took were just for fun. I had a great time with my friends taking pictures of them. I will never forget this time when it was cold and freezing - I shook the camera too much because it was freezing outside and was happy with the result of my mistakes. I like the different frames and lighting in the photos. The cold didn't stop us from hanging out and going downtown and having fun.

Grant Rouillard-Horne
Harding Senior High School
Grade 11
An Ode to Sleep to our Sovereign King
Pastel on Paper, 12” x 18”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

This is an Ode to Sleep to our departed companion and overlord, Toby. I created this piece to honor his life and to remember that everything life gives can be taken away in seconds. This artwork is Important to me because it was one of the first art pieces I have made with pastels and it celebrates the life of the Sovereign King of the House of Horne who we hold dearly in our hearts. 

Reed Schumann
Highland Park Senior High School
Grade 12
Look Further
Ceramic, 5” x 4” x 4”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award
 
This artwork tells the story of my senior year of high school, and how my entire life I have been surrounded by the people that love and protect me. As I am reaching the next chapter of my life they will have to let go, and so will I. This is represented in my work, as the pot portrays the people that protect and love me, and I am the red, contrasted against the dark, slowly creeping out of the pot.

Kylee 
Harding Senior High School
Grade 10
Untitled
Tempera on Watercolor Paper, 9” x 12”
SPPS Award

What I like best about my painting is how it kinda pops out, the bottom circle seems to get my attention and that’s what I was going for. One thing I would change is probably the portion of how big and small the circles are since one side seems more cramped and the other seems kinda spaces out.

Jasmine Williams
Highland Park Senior High School
Grade 9
Every Little Piece
Graphite Drawing, 11” x 8.5” 

I like seeing people on social media and how cool their drawings are, they inspire me to keep doing art. My own earliest art memory was in 6th grade English when I found myself randomly sketching faces, eyes, and figures. Taking car reference photos and finding the one I liked was relatively easy for me because I already have done a lot of photography on my own. I think the most challenging part for me in this piece was the large light where there were so many different little shapes they were kind of messing with my head. I like that there are a lot of details and geometric shapes in the car light and it can really stand out in the drawings. Overall, I like doing realistic drawings, it doesn’t really matter what it is. I like that there are a lot of details and geometric shapes in the car light and it can really stand out in the drawings. I learned that little details take the most time but little details express the bigger picture, and make up the bigger drawing. 

Rebecca Wah
Humboldt High School
Grade 10
Untitled
Acrylic, 11”’ x 16”

My art is telling about the place that I dream to go and a place that is far away from bad things.

Henry Diaz
Humboldt High School
Grade 9
Untitled
Colored Pencil, 9” x 12” 
Ordway Center Award

I chose this scene because it has two types of culture. My favorite parts are the village at the bottom and the images at the top. If I changed something for next time, I would change how things are spaced, and increase overlap and space between depending on importance. I am proud of the village as it is the home of El Salvadoran folk art, and I am thrilled to have shown that as an important part of my culture.

Rhianel
LEAP High School
Grade 10
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Acrylic, 18” x 24”
SPPS Award

This art tells a story about the capital of the Dominican Republic. I used to live there with my family, but I had to leave it behind. I discovered new techniques with the brush and how to mix colors. This artwork is important to me because this is the city where it all began. When I was only ten years old, I started drawing because I had a lot of free time. Since there was no electricity or Wi-Fi network in my house, my mother always spent her time working and most of that time I spent alone. Drawing was something that took a lot of time and that was what I liked. In this work I drew the city where it all began for me. This work is the first painting that I drew and painted, so that is what makes it important to me.

Ghost
Open World Learning Community
Grade 9
0.5
Oil pastels, 18” x 24”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

I made this art piece to capture the modern world and how we see the world through pictures. When creating this piece I felt like I needed it to be more creative with over-the-top colors to show people what us kids can express and how we express ourselves. I learned that I truly enjoy putting lots of crazy colors to make something unique and beautiful but also different. This is very important to me because I feel as though I made something I can see myself through. 

Sunshine Yang
Washington Technology Magnet School
Grade 12
Portrait
White Charcoal on Black, 9” x 12”
Wet Paint Artist Materials Award

The story my art tells is how COVID-19 affected us. We have to wear a mask to protect ourselves from getting COVID. While creating this artwork, I discovered that I enjoy using charcoal. This artwork is important to me because I spent a lot of time creating it.