With only a couple days before the Grandview High School Art Show debuts , the halls are filled with the hum of creativity, laughter, and passion. Students are putting the finishing touches on paintings and sketches- already envisioning where it will be placed along the hallways. Collaboration and feedback are constant as classmates offer suggestions and help each other solve creative challenges.  

“I think the pieces I have I’m really happy with. The feeling that they give me makes me want to keep making pieces that are even better,” Leah Picics (12) said.

Students draw inspiration from personal experiences, including family stories, friendships, and moments that shaped their lives. Each work reflects the student’s individual voice, yet the preparation is a shared experience. 

“My family supported me the entire time when I felt unmotivated and needed inspiration. [They] just help me keep going and find different ways to view the world.” Amelia Heim (9) said. 

Teachers and families provide help by guiding students through the preparation process by supporting them through reaching deadlines, offering feedback and helping when they’re feeling unmotivated.

”It takes a long time to make all of my paintings. I am not great at making myself work on them if I’m not feeling super inspired. But then when I am, I crank them out,” Picics said.  

The preparation process looks different for every student artist, with some relying on bursts of inspiration while others build steady creative habits over time.

“I’ve always loved drawing ever since I was really young. Like, I’m always drawing.” Amaya Arducci (10) said.

By the end of the preparation period, the collective effort of all students from first year sketchers to seniors completing long term projects results in a gallery ready to present. 

“To feelings and experiences that words alone could never fully capture represent things that are too hard to describe visually which is why I use art,”  Picics said.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Taniya Thomas