The Flint Hill Art Department spans four major disciplines: studio art, ceramics, photography and film, and performing arts. While the Performing Arts Department has Arts Jam to showcase their work, the other three sectors of the art department work towards the Art Show, which took place last Wednesday. While this is an exciting accomplishment for all who participate, this is a particularly big night for many seniors, whose artistic career at Flint Hill culminates with their senior Art Show. This year, Flint Hill seniors excelled in all three specialties, displaying everything from short films to larger-than-life canvas paintings and ceramic frosted cakes.
In Upper School Art Teacher Nikki Brugnoli’s Portfolio Art class, the highest level of studio art offered at Flint Hill, each collection had a distinct theme, objective, and style. Senior Lauren Pao, in her exploration of family and leaving home, created several portraits of her family centered around her own self portrait, three life-sized paintings depicting her personal development, and multiple “orb” sculptures which gave continuity to the symbolism throughout her pieces. Senior Sofia Kazembe’s show, Adolescence, explores the whimsical and creative aspects of childhood, which exist free of the fear of judgment. To achieve this, Kazembe created several brightly colored and aesthetically distinct paintings while curating hundreds of photographs, which together encapsulate the overarching sensibilities and emotions she sought to portray. Senior Lily Forster’s pieces encompass “The Spirit of Place” and the feelings that different spaces evoke, creating both landscapes, still lifes, and portraits to communicate familiar sensations of belonging. Through chalk pastel drawings of people and their pets, Senior Ellie Masseide sought to capture the meaningful connections between humans and animals. Senior Kieran Snow, who worked around the central theme of home, dedicated herself to mastering new stained glass and mosaic mediums. Together, her paintings, mosaics, and stained glass pieces depict the familiar, warm visuals and feelings of home. Lastly, Senior Gipson Brown displayed the largest exhibition, “Fabrics of My Story,” featuring oil and acrylic paintings, charcoal drawings, sewn pieces, and various photo printing techniques. When considered together, they display the meaningful people, places, and experiences that comprise the “fabrics” of Brown’s story.
While Portfolio Art largely focused on communicating broader themes and symbolism, Seniors in Flint Hill’s top ceramics class, Upper School Art Teacher Julia Cardone’s AP 3D Art, had a greater focus on stylistic, technical, and aesthetic development. Participating in both ceramics and studio art for all four years of high school, Pao’s ceramic pieces sought to honor and highlight the movement, behavior, and life-giving properties of water. Senior Tomas Dasek created countless dog bowls of varying sizes and glazes, aimed at creating special pieces for dogs’ use. Lastly, Senior Keira Peyton Stout created life-size ceramic cakes and cupcakes, all frosted and decorated with her “ceramic frosting.” Through her sculptures, Stout developed her technical skills while further discovering her personal style and preferred motifs.
Putting an even greater emphasis on technical prowess, the seniors across Upper School Digital Art Teacher Catherine Huber’s photography and film classes put on display their masterful skills for composition, curation, and storytelling in a variety of mediums. Seniors in Ms. Huber’s film class had short films playing throughout the show, like their short film “The Last Remaining,” directed and edited by Senior Jasmine Coates. The film follows four teenagers as each of their worst fears comes true, displaying a true talent for storytelling and videography.
In completing the art show, Flint Hill’s seniors made clear exactly why the art department is so important: bringing students the power of personal and creative expression. Flint Hill’s art requirement could be written off as just another graduation credit, but what if it’s a gateway to discovery? “I’m so grateful that I had to take ceramics, cause I wouldn’t have pursued any of this on my own,” said Stout. In many of the students’ own words, the art credit pushed them to take the time and initiative they wouldn’t have otherwise. The greatest value of the art department is its ability to show students who they are creatively, giving them the opportunity to develop artistically as they learn techniques most others might not explore until art school. For those who have no plans of attending art school, the art department is possibly even more beneficial, giving them incredibly unique opportunities for exploration and development that one might have to enroll in a separate program to experience.
