Advocacy

Climate Change

Evan Ganski, Grade 10

Embroidery

School: Laura Secord Secondary School

Teacher: Mrs. Chelsea Wilcox

Principal: Mrs. Helena Tritchew

Artist Statement: I definitely believe that I succeeded with my embroidery piece, especially considering it was a medium I never used before. I believe I especially excelled at incorporating a lot of different and interesting techniques and textures. One thing I believe I could’ve improved on was making my stitches neater and keeping line length/proportion more consistent, but overall I am very impressed with myself and can confidently say that I did very well on this piece.

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Kiara Waite, Grade 10

Acrylic on Wood

School: Stamford Collegiate

Teacher: Ms. Larissa Turcotte

Principal: Mr. Neil Sheard

Artist Statement: I’ve felt really insecure about my body for a very long time so I thought, why dont I make it into art? When the final task came along I decided I wanted to improve on flowers. The more difficult part of this project was figuring out how I would be painting myself and drawing my back rolls, tummy and my back. I literally stood in front of the mirror for an hour or so feeling terrible seeing every insecurity, knowing that I’d be putting it onto canvas in some way. Another thing that was a challenge was finding a canvas that would be big enough, I ended up taking a roofer's yard sign to paint on. Overall I feel like I was pretty successful in creating this and I'm proud of myself.

The purple clematis (top right) symbolizes the beauty of ingenuity.

The blue forget me nots (bottom right) symbolizes protection, luck and remembrance.

Jasminum abyssinicum symbolizes beauty (top left).

Cattleya orchid (bottom left) symbolizes elegance.

“Neotropolis”

Hayden Crompton, Grade 11

Mixed Media 12X15 inches

School: Grimsby Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Vicki Schindel

Principal: Mr. Mat Miller

Artist Statement: There comes a point in the human mind where the balance between good and bad thoughts collide. Mentalities may become conflicted when negatives outweigh the positives, causing ourselves to feel stuck. Eventually, this minor problem causes a temporary setback on ourselves, also known as a glitch. For this choice of interest ISU, I have incorporated factors such as distortion, eye leading qualities and symmetry. I believe that having good balance allows an artist to make a comparison between two different perspectives. In this piece, my goal was to show the realization of external thoughts affecting internal thought. Through a series of unique images, a distorted figure looks down an alleyway with two sides of a modern headspace displayed. It’s body appears to be malfunctioning because of it's overwhelmed thoughts. One of the ways to make these symbols stand out was through studying neon and digital artwork. Scottish chemist William Ramsay discovered noble gases, one of which including Neon. He named the element after the Greek word Neos, meaning new or reimagined. Thus, it is used for decorative and advertisement applications to attract people's attention. Each side has a collection of neon signs representing important topics.

Shown hovering above the urban lookout is a brooding brainstorm cloud that splits the figures focus. Similar to the silhouettes heart, both body parts are double sided from being torn between mindsets. Firstly, hanging on the brick wall is the hang loose symbol. This represents the relaxation of hanging out with friends that create special memories. A lone pine tree stands tall to depict a family tree, those people in life you can rely on for anything. A hospital plus sign symbolizes the fortunate gift of healthcare in our country that sustains our bodies. Lastly, the musical crescendo illuminates the soul by showing how our favourite tunes can lift spirits through sound. This half is the part of the brain that feels calm, without any bumps along the road. Shifting over to the right, the warm red colour gives off an angry and problematic vibe. This is the half of the brain that pulls away from the joys of life. It is the moment where we need to act up in order to change for the good. With many global issues happening in this time, it is easy to let these events impact our mental state. In the form of a thermometer, the climate strike is a protest insisting we take higher action to address the world’s practices. A balanced weight scale shows the stable decisions we desire to see in politics. The dreadful COVID 19 virus shape takes over a large amount of space in our heads as it affects the other thoughts we have. Overall, inside our heads there are many obstacles and cracks along the way with an uncertain ending. However, when both positives and negatives are brought together, it forms the decisions that determine these outcomes.

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Dakota Messervey, Grade 9

Digital

School: Thorold Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Kim Duggan

Principal: Ms. Karen Ferguson

Artist Statement: What I was going for in this art piece was simply someone with covid behind a broken screen. It's supposed to symbolize the sick person not being able to see family in real life because of the pandemic, therefore the shattered screen.

The materials I used were just a pencil, paper and my phone to make it digital. I did contemplate making it a painting but decided that making it digital would be more fun.

I think it turned out pretty well! I'm not 100% proud of it but that's just me setting too high expectations for myself. If I could change one thing I would probably try what my original idea was and that was someone falling into the screen with their hand reaching out for help. but over all I'm proud of what I made.

The Reality of Online Education

Ella Upper, Grade 9

Mixed Media

School: Thorold Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Kim Duggan

Principal: Ms. Karen Ferguson

Artist Statement: My initial idea with this art piece is the reality of online education. Online school is hard especially at these times without learning in person, it makes certain classes or topics a lot more difficult to understand and get assignments handed in on time. I used pencil sharpies and pencil crayons to complete this art piece. Halfway through I changed up the perspective. I think this piece turned out pretty good, and in the end I liked the way it looked.

Fashion: The Unseen of the Industry

Christie Wang, Grade 11

Pencil Crayon on Nutex

School: A.N. Myer Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Rena Burns

Principal: Mrs. Kim Carruthers

Artist Statement: In recent times, the fashion industry has introduced a new model of production known as fast fashion. This rapid production of inexpensive clothing has led to overconsumption and caused a harmful impact on the environment and garment workers. The intention of my artwork is to showcase the two “worlds” of fashion, being the garments sold to us, as the general public, as well as the darker side of fashion, represented by imagery of sweatshop workers and mountains of mass-produced, wasted garments and fabrics. I would choose to install this work at 210 Glendale Ave, St. Catharines. The building features a vacant wall, in proximity of the Pen Centre shopping mall, home to many fast fashion brands, as well as a Goodwill, a non-profit, secondhand store. I believe that my choice of location for my artwork will allow viewers to question and consider their personal morals, before contributing to fast fashion retailers.

"Please Let Me Go"

Charlotte Rangaratnam, Grade 10

Mixed Media 18X24 inches

School: Grimsby Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Vicki Schindel

Principal: Mr. Mat Miller

Artist Statement: One of the most important things in my world is freedom. The freedom to be who you want and make choices to reflect the impact that you want to have in the world around you, whatever that may be. This piece is meant to reflect just how important it is to feel free. It’s easy to be dragged down by the need to live up to others expectations, and it can make you feel as though you’re drowning from pressure. People need space to breathe, and to live. Spending too much time trying to reach an impossible goal

Martha

Mikaela Key, Grade 10

Acrylic on Canvas 16” x 20”

School: Governor Simcoe Secondary School

Teacher: Mr. Michael Grant

Principal: Ms. Teri Thompson

Artist Statement: This acrylic painting shows “Martha”, a cow from a farm I have been to a few times. The painting features Martha’s innocent, happy-go-lucky head with a peaceful blue sky in the background. As a Holstein cow, she looks like the other cows on the farm; however, the two tags clipped to her ears are meant to remind us that she is different from the other cows. She is not free. She is a number, and she has a job to do. If she is unable to complete her job, another “number” will take her place on the farm.

Flight 752

Fatemeh Sadat Zolfaghari, Grade 12

Photography

School: St. Catharines Collegiate

Teacher: Ms. Cassie Randall

Principal: Mrs. Johanna Provost

Artist Statement: A heart breaking moment is captured to display how deplorable is the story of 176 innocents people shot down on an Ukrainian airplane in Tehran, Iran by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This woman is my sister while she was crying during watching a memorial video of all the innocents, also I captured this heart-rending moment while I was crying for the victims as well. Additionally, I used a smartphone camera, an Apple IPhone 11 Pro, with 12-megapixel rear cameras to capture this human moment.

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Averey Thiessen, Grade 10

Mixed Media

School: Westlane Secondary School

Teacher: Mrs. Stacy Dunn-Hodges

Principal: Mrs. Karen Simpson

Artist Statement: In this artwork I am addressing the issue of deforestation and the importance of keeping the earth clean. I chose this issue because I care a lot about the environment and I think more people should also be careful with our environment. I wanted my artwork to have enchanted fairy vibes with lots of purples and pinks. I drew a fairy crying because her home, which was a tree, got cut down by humans. I wanted to show this issue in a more creative and fun way.

My Worst Nightmare

Kelliann Fretz, Grade 10

Digital

School: Greater Fort Erie Secondary School

Teacher: Amy Ballett

Principal: Mr. Fred Louws

Artist Statement: I have a lot of nightmares, but the one that always gets me is the constant fear of getting judged for who I am. I feel that if I get judged, a lot of gossip would be going around. For what goes on in my life because of the fears of mine puts me in a frequent quiet mode. If I’d go anywhere that’s not my house and if I’m not with my close friend, I stay quiet and only do what I need to and get it over with. In the drawing/sketch, the girl that’s crying is me, and the girl with speech bubbles is the nightmare.

Women

Samantha Chcoski, Grade 9

Embroidery

School: Laura Secord Secondary School

Teacher: Mrs. Chelsea Wilcox

Principal: Mrs. Helena Tritchew

Artist Statement: I do think that my piece was successful because I really like how it turned out. It isn’t perfect and I messed up a few times, however I’m happy with the end result. I learned a lot of things while completing this assignment. I learned how to do the lazy daisy stitch among others that were in the video, and I learned how to pull my fabric tighter. I also learned how to do finer details if you use less thread which is how I did the detailing in the face. I think that I could have focused more on the highlights in the hair since I think they came out a little sloppy. I also could have organized my words a bit better to do so and I could’ve made them a bit more neat.

Love is Love

Kai Bouchard, Grade 12

Markers on paper

School: Alternative Education

Teacher: Hilary Williams

Principal: Mrs. Tracy Sacco

Artist Statement: No matter who you are, everyone deserves to be loved.

Life as a Filipino

Aisha El Sahli, Grade 10

paper, watercolour paint, newspaper, markers, pencils, pencil crayons, tinfoil, cardboard, toothpicks, fake flowers, highlighters, & clear tape, 10 inches x 10 inches by 10 inches

School: DSBN Academy

Teacher: Mrs. Cara Goulding

Principal: Mrs. Lisa Nazar

Artist Statement: My art piece "Life as a Filipino" was inspired by Bu Hua's piece "Playing a happy game no. 11" in which she uses lots of symbolism to show what it's like growing up in China. My piece of course focuses on being Filipino, but also the struggles of having an immigrant parent and not fitting the "beauty standard" in Canada. The couch with spikes is supposed to represent the fact that immigrant parents never get to feel relaxed because they stress over work, lots of them having to work several jobs which is even more stressful especially if they have children, like my mother. The girl with black hair (which is supposed to be me) looking into a mirror that has a reflection if a white, blonde girl with blue eyes symbolizes that a lot of the time people of colour, specifically women, struggle with their appearance and feel as though they don't fit Canada's "beauty standard". I also added a few other elements to represent the Philippines, such as the fake white flowers which look like sampaguitas, the national flower of the Philippines, a pearl which is the national gem, a palm tree because the Philippines is a very tropical country, and I used watercolours to paint the bottom of the piece colours which represent a mango just because it's a really popular fruit in the Philippines. Lastly, I took newspaper and cut out and highlighted words such as "family" and "opportunities" to represent immigrants coming to Canada in hopes of a better life.

Peace in Tragedy

Spencer Coman, Grade 10

Mixed Media

School: Laura Secord Secondary School

Teacher: Mrs. Chelsea Wilcox

Principal: Mrs. Helena Tritchew

Artist Statement: This piece is a mixed media that showed off what has happened in this year, the koi fish represent peace and calmness whereas the pond in the centre represents everything that’s currently going on in my area and in others.

A Covid Retrospective

Sahar Nasire, Grade 9

Pencil/Graphite on Paper 8.5x11

School: A.N. Myer Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Tracy Garratt

Principal: Ms. Kim Carruthers

Artist Statement: I decided to complete a month-by-month retrospective of my experiences studying from home during the pandemic. Although life has been challenging, there have been positive moments too. I used graphite to create the work and used a comic book format because my class was studying Pop Art and graphic art at the time. I hope you like it.

Trudeau COVID-19

Madison Chemerika, Grade 10

Watercolour 18 x 22.5 cm

School: E.L Crossley Secondary School

Teacher: Ms. Sherry Wilkinson

Principal: Mrs. Janice Sargeant

Artist Statement:

This is a watercolour painting of Justin Trudeau at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I've Included COVID-19 viruses, toilet paper and hand sanitizer to represent their popularity (especially at the beginning of the pandemic) and Justin Trudeau's famous remark: "Speaking moistly". This playful, witty piece was inspired by Jim Carrey's watercolour paintings, where he made fun of many different presidents.