Anchor Art Showcase Issue 1

Xavier Peng, Staff Writer

“Sunset Snow”, Julia Bartley ’24
“A photo taken while on a ski at the Nordic Heritage Center of the sunset through the trees.”

“This photo makes me jealous to have missed the experience – that moment when the sun is setting and the whole sky glows? Who wouldn’t want to be outside for that? Beautiful, Julia.”—Mrs. Whitten-Smith

 

 

 

 

 

“Fred”, Kai Levesque ‘25
“The colors are meant to symbolize the American flag since I drew him for
an Honors Civics project. His beak is open so that he can passive
aggressively tell you to vote.”

 

 

 

 

“Kai, I’m so happy to see this completed. You always put everything into your work and it SHOWS. The soft subtle shading around the eyes is particularly impressive – what an extraordinary amount of time work this must have taken. Better have earned an A. ;)”—Mrs. Whitten-Smith

 

 

Hailey Bois ’26
“My inspiration for it was “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I thought the way the hills and mountains were pointy were really authentic and striking. So…. I made my own little creation of what I think is spooky.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hailey – please tell me you’ve signed up for a painting class next year? (Fingers crossed!) The limited palette of neutrals gives a feeling of foreboding and the carefully placed highlights (applied thickly or stumbled) move the eye around and through the work. I want to know what those birds are circling below…shudder.”—Mrs. Whitten Smith.

 

 

 

“A Dreamer’s Mind”, Kaeleigh Swanson ’26
“It’s supposed to be an abstract thing. I am fully aware of the random scribbles, non-perfect lines that trace the colors, etc. I feel that art that does not need to be bound to any specific thing. The flow of everything is mainly me representing myself through my work, showing how nothing is truly perfect and we are allowed to be imperfect as people.”

 

“This is compelling work, Kaleigh. The ‘non-prefect lines and random scribbles’ make this piece lively – and mark making, the quick gestural foundations of a work, are so often erased but they add interest! Lots to look at here, lots that will make one look two and three times to discover it all. Do you Zentangle? Look it up. :)”— Mrs. Whitten-Smith

 

 

“My Cat”, Kathryn Murchison ’25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“This is a wonderful photo. Taking pictures can seem like a quick mindless thing we do to document our experiences, but when you capture what you love that comes through. It’s little eyes are staring into our soul! Such intensity. I want your kitten – so cute in their buffalo check! I wish that we still have a photography class for you through the Presque Isle Tech Center, but keep snapping!”—Mrs. Whitten-Smith

 

Congratulations to all the selected works of our first issue of the Anchor Art Showcase! You can go to the journalism room, find Mrs. Young to get your prize. The artists that weren’t selected, please stay tuned for our second issue, which will be bigger and more inclusive— it’s coming very soon!