The month of October, arguably the best time of year, is progressing. Lawns are decorated, houses smell of apples and leaves, and more than a few fake spiders have claimed multiple victims already. But the real terror? The lack of recognition for Cumberland High School art students. Welcome to the first monthly artist shoutout, provided by me, Sydney Martins, a senior at CHS.
Today specifically, I’ll introduce what Advanced Placement Studio Art is and two AP art students from last year. Both Emma “Jordan” Richall and Mia DiMauro showed exceptional skill in their finished portfolios, and I will give them their place in the spotlight before introducing this year’s AP Art class. This class requires students to create a collection of artworks under a set idea, called a Sustained Investigation, instead of taking a written test.
Our first artist is Emma Richall, my best friend, and an extremely talented senior at CHS. She took AP Art last year and got a five on her full portfolio. Her confident linework and skillful composition are her claim to fame here at CHS. Emma’s guiding question, “How can I depict how physical objects hold emotional connections to our younger selves,” can be seen specifically in this pen-over-monotype piece. Here, she uses a blue ballpoint pen and a white gel pen to recreate her dog, Sadie, with Emma’s own childhood stuffed turtle on her head. With bold color and multimedia, Emma brought life to each piece by incorporating at least one of her two childhood stuffed turtles into each work.
According to Emma, “art is everything to me.” She states, “I started doing art when I was very young, but I started getting more into it during COVID when we were stuck inside. I remember getting an iPad for Christmas, and I got really into digital art for years. When I started high school, I became more confident in my artistic ability and decided to take it more seriously.” As someone who has been beside Emma for four years now and watched her grow throughout our time in high school, I can confidently say that I am truly impressed with her work and hope that she continues to put her mind to paper.
In the same class as Emma last year was Mia DiMauro. Mia is also a senior and one of my good friends, and I am proud to say that she, as well, has impressed many with her art. Her guiding question was simple, but quite effective: “How can I evoke different emotions through the depiction of various folktales?” Mia states that folklore has always been a fascination of hers, and with the freedom of AP Art, she had an excuse to explore the concept further and visually. Her ability to utilize different mediums in her pieces, each based on a different myth, shows the depth with which she navigated her topic.
For this one in particular, Mia chose grief, and writes, “I chose the myth of the Saapin. It is about this snake entity who hosts itself in married women, making a snake tattoo appear on their spine. On a full moon, the snake takes over the woman and kills her lover. The woman or the lover don’t know that the snake is present, the cause of death always being determined as natural. I explored the grief that she might feel, about all the seemingly lost luck she has with love time and time again.” The prompt for this piece being black and white versus color, Mia shows the grief in the posture of the depicted woman and the greyscale coloring of the background contrasting with the deep purple snake emerging from her spine. Even the color of the snake is deliberately chosen, as the color purple is often associated with grief and mourning. Overall, the composition and well-thought-out nature of this piece can hint at how well done the rest of Mia’s portfolio was.
Today, I have talked a lot about the past. However, with each year, a new class is formed, and there are a total of 16 students this year. With sustained investigations into the depth of oceans, the vastness of emotions, and an odd baseball with a face, I will be mentioning every one of them. Along with the other art classes, such as digital photography, arts one, two, and three, and ceramics one and two, I will be showcasing as many people as I can. Each month, I aim to bring more recognition to the art students of Cumberland High School, and I hope you will join me in this.
For now, thank you for reading, stay safe, and happy Halloween!
