For most students at Leesville Road High, art is not a noun, but a verb. Nastalgia Powe, Andrea Lopez, and Grace Satterfield, artists, agree that art is how you express yourself, whether through dance, music, or painting. Every person has a different take on art and their own form.
“Art is the expression of yourself,” said Satterfield, dancer. “It’s anything that reflects how you feel.”
She compared the process of creating a dance to creating a painting. First create the dance, then continue to reform it, adding the layers of paint, until the desired product is achieved.
Andrea Lopez, also a dancer, uses the stage as her canvas, painting her masterpiece with her feet. “Art is the interpretation of your inner emotion you’re putting into motion.”
Laura Thabet, junior, said, “Art is the manifestation of all the feelings trapped inside someone. Art is living and constantly changing.”
Because art consists of a specific person’s sentiments, not all of the pieces displayed at the Museum of Art will appeal to everyone. Art is relative.
“Everyone’s interpretation is different,” said Laura Thabet.
For some students, art is more than simply self-expression. Nastalgia Powe, whose art form is music, taught herself to play guitar a year ago, has played violin in the school orchestra since sixth grade, plays the cello, as well as writes songs.
“It has become my life,” said Powe.
Another artist in Leesville is Katie Bellino, photographer. She began using this medium five years ago. “I use it as an escape,” said Bellino.
She often goes to Umstead Park to take nature pictures with her NIkon D3000, something she enjoys doing.
“People understand photography when they look at it,” says Bellino. She feels it is less cryptic than traditional paintings.
To Michael King, sophomore, art is something done during free time which doesn’t require any directions on how to do it.
“It is whatever you personally enjoy that you don’t have to impress anyone else,” said King.
Art is vast, reaching past the typical notions of paintings and sketches to include different forms of music and dance. It differs from person to person, taking on various forms and allowing people to express themselves.
