Sydney Crawford
"Let the Art Speak is a program I started when my anxiety was at it's worst. I discovered that painting provided me with a sense of control my anxiety was robbing me of. I lead expressive art workshops challenging others to let their art speak. My workshops give people of all ages a safe space to express themselves and use art as a coping mechanism."
I am a senior at South Effingham High School where I am president of the Student Council, President of National Art Honors society, Secretary of the Interact Club, and a Member at Large for our Spirit Club. I am also a mentor in our Mustang Mentors program and a varsity cheerleader for our sideline cheer team, and our back to back state champion Game Day cheer team.
Last year I was blessed to compete in the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition, the official state preliminary to Miss America. I made top 15, and won the Newcomer Talent Award. For my talent I performed a speed painting of an original dress that I designed. I was able to showcase my creativity through designing my entire wardrobe for Miss Georgia. Alongside designing my wardrobe, I also was able to design and make a dress for the 2023 New York Fashion Week, which I so proudly was able to model on the runway myself.
Art has made me who I am today and I am very passionate about spreading awareness that art is a tool we can all use to cope with mental health. Let the Art Speak is a program I started to give people of all ages a safe space to be creative. In my workshops we use my acronym for ART: Accept, Recognize, and Take Action. A - Accept the things you can't control, R - Recognize you need a healthy coping mechanism and what that is, and T - Take Action to better your mental health.
I am grateful for the opportunity to live and work in this inspiring environment, and I am committed to continuing my artistic journey, pushing the boundaries of my creativity, and sharing the one thing that helped me when I was at my worst with audiences near and far.
Height: 12
Width: 13
Idea: Feeling your world tear apart, but although your current situation is dark, we still are whole.
Materials: Cresent board, cardboard, acrylic paint, watercolor
Process: Creating implied texture and actual texture by collaging a ripped up ppainting, and cut out hands.
Height: 11
Width: 10
Idea: Accurately showing the beauty of what it feels like to deflate through the imagry of a balloon.
Materials: Ebony pencil
Process: Blocked out shapes created by the reflection of the light, and adding value and shading.
Height: 20
Width: 16
Idea: Visual refrence of feeling completely overwhelmed, and desperate for help.
Materials: Acrylic paint
Process: Referencing my hand and an image I took of the ocean, using monochromatic colors, creating movement.
