Hello pirates, this year has been off to a wonderful start for many of the classes here at PHS! The students in Ms Hopper’s class have been hard at work creating wonderful art pieces, and here we are going to hear from some of them about why they love art and what inspires them.
Lexi Henson, a student and artist here at PHS, stated that she enjoys the freedom Ms Hopper allows students to use on her assignments. She told me, “I most enjoy the fact that we have free reign when it comes to our creativity. Yes, there are guidelines for our assignments, but there are almost no limitations when it comes to what we are allowed to create.” While she has rules for her class and assignments, there are little to no limitations on what students are allowed to make, making her class a free and creative space.
Lexi got into art by watching her older sister, she saw her sister making submissions to contests, and this inspired her to begin art herself. She said, “I think what got me into art was seeing my sister be the best artist I know.” For Lexi, the things she sees and experiences influence her art greatly. She is a prolific reader, her imagination is open to many ideas and experiences which motivate her to create art. Her preferred medium is paint, she enjoys the wide range of possible colors that allow her to bring her artwork to life. As a kid, she dreamed of being a famous artist, but she enjoys it as a hobby now, although she has thought about being a children’s book illustrator, saying that although it’s not high on her list it’s still an option.
Another student, Livia Campbell, agreed to an interview. When it comes to why many people enjoy art at PHS it’s obvious that the class has a wonderful environment for working and creativity, Ms Hopper gives students a degree of freedom that is rare in school environments. She still enforces rules and guidelines, but doesn’t make students create things that they have no passion for, instead allowing them to express themselves and their creative freedom. Livia mentioned how supportive Ms Hopper is, she lets students express themselves, and especially in advanced art she allows students to have much creative freedom. She mentioned that when she was young, her mother filled the house with art supplies, and she would engage in fun, artistic activities with them when they were young. Livia told me about how her older brother was also an artist, when she was little she was both jealous and inspired by him, a feeling I’m sure most people who knew an older artist growing up know well.
Portraiture is one of Livia’s preferred artistic subjects, she allows her emotions to shape her art, drawing from those feelings and creating something to express herself. If she’s tired she’ll turn on some music and draw someone who looks tired, it’s a way to get out negative feelings. In these art pieces, she likes to sketch with graphite and charcoal, although she says she is trying to get more into using color in her works. Using pencil and charcoal it’s easy to layer and get rich shadows and contrast that with highlights or lightly shaded regions of her work. Livia says that when it comes to drawing it is more of a hobby and emotional outlet than anything she wants to do as a career. As a dancer, she wishes to pursue a different kind of art, one that she is very passionate about.
The last student interviewed was Mahala Latta. She said that she enjoys the art class here at PHS, and Ms Hopper has helped her get her art out there and assisted her in finding jobs. Her mother is an artist and throughout her whole life she’s been surrounded by art and she can’t remember a time where she didn’t do art, saying, “It’s just second nature to me.” She has always been encouraged to express herself creatively, and it has always been a part of her life. Mahala expressed how much she loved the beautiful things around her, and how it inspires her to create, to immortalize and to portray the beauty of the world around her. Creating is a way to express her love for the things that she loves around her, the things that she finds joy and beauty in. She prefers to work with acrylic, a versatile paint medium. For Mahala, she plans on doing art as a hobby for the rest of her life, generating supplementary income to her main job.
They are only a few of the incredibly talented students here at PHS, even still, they all share one thing in common, a love of art and a love of creation. It is clear from these interviews that everyone has something different that inspires them, and that is their muse, for some, they are inspired by experiences and love for other forms of art like literature, for others, they use it to channel their emotions into an expression of how they feel, and for others, it is the sheer beauty of the world around them that fills them with a need to create. Regardless of background or upbringing, everyone can agree on one thing: art is a pure medium used to express one’s ingenuity that is awe-inspiring for all. There are many more talented artists here in Poteau and I hope they continue to express themselves freely and to express their creativity to their heart’s extent, and with that being said, thank you for reading, don’t be goofy, and have a wonderful day, Pirates!
