The Upper School Visual Arts Department hosted a reception and studio tours to celebrate the Upper School Honors Visual Arts Student Exhibition. Many families attended studio tours in Sara Krupnick-Ritz’s sculpture room, David Love's Drawing/Painting studio, Nic Wynia’s photo studio, and Dainis Roman’s Digital Media studio. There was also time to look at all the work and celebrate the artists. Below are just a few of the artist statements about their projects. 

 

Hi, my name is Jazziah Manning and I am a junior here at GA. I am an honors students and I have been taking photo classes since freshman year and I enjoy having the opportunity to create art. Photography is a lot of fun and my favorite thing is the freedom to take pictures of whatever I want and learn lots of new skills. My main inspirational is sports photography and candid pictures of people. I think pictures of people having fun and being natural tell a lot about the person and can be insightful. Sports photography is really fun because there are lots of emotions during games whether in a gym class, at Middle School lunch, or during highly competitive rival games.

Authenticity is important to me. Faces often reveal a lot during the games, so I try to capture authentic smiles, upset grimaces, laughs, and looks of focus while I am out taking photos around campus. I also try and capture sunlight on people’s faces because sunlight and shadows make an interesting contrast. This class has also taught me the skills to create a documentary for my Academy Scholars Project. I would like to thank Mr. Wynia for allowing me to be creative and walk around Middle School Lunch to take photos of the students, and I would like to thank the Middle School students for allowing me to take their photos as well as the Upper School PE classes.
- Jazziah Manning ’25

As a child I always enjoyed creating art and it has been a large part of my identity for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I really began to explore art further and work with materials and mediums I had never thought about. This was transformative, as I really began to see art in a new light, as a constantly hanging hobby. I could create vastly different pieces everyday and it never lost its excitement. This fall, I spent the majority of my time crafting a collection of three acrylic fruit paintings. This journey in the realm of still life allowed me to explore the vibrant colors, textures, and intricate details found in natural food. My favorite piece of work from this collection is my model charcoal drawing of a male figure. This piece represents a pivotal moment in my artistic development, as it pushed me to hone my quick drawing skills and experiment with different mediums of charcoal. Working with acrylic, watercolor, and charcoal has been a learning process and has created a unique set of challenges. The diversity of these mediums allows me to continually evolve as an artist. It is important to me that I continue to grow as an artist by branching out and trying new things.
-Abigail Swanson ’24

 

When I was a kid I always enjoyed going to work with my dad because it meant I got to be around the warehouse and learn how different things were made. He and my mom attended Drexel University for architecture and design; they are both big inspirations in my life regarding art. Since freshman year I have spent much of my time crafting, creating, and learning in Mr. Love’s studio here in the Arts Center. My favorite art piece I have ever done was my big back and white cube with hints of red. This geometric shape drawing was fun for me because it was something I had never done before and reminded me of stuff I would see around my dad’s office whenever I would go to work with him. Challenging myself to try something new allowed me to push myself out of my comfort zone. I am currently trying new things and working with mixed medium art, using spray paint, acrylic paint, glitter, and more. I hope you enjoy my art.
-Anita Sinker ’25

 

 

Honors art has proven to be a wonderful learning experience for me in creativity and flexibility. The course allows me to express myself while pushing to persevere through different challenges and obstacles. Starting the year with the matchbox project, I was slightly annoyed to be working on a project that needed to be so minuscule. However, just because something is small, does not prevent it from containing intricate little details. I continued the theme of sizing and scale not only in the project itself but the idea behind it too. My matchbox serves as an Alice in Wonderland image, reminding me that scale is always adjustable and that like this project, not everything is as it seems. Despite originally being filled with relief upon learning about the sculpture bust project, my mood quickly wavered. The size made me optimistic, and the broad guidelines allowed me to feel in control. But there came to be a point where my sculpture collapsed, the head snapped off the sea serpent’s body. This led my feelings towards the project to turn in a complete 180 degrees. I had to support and add wood to structure the base, causing me to need to widen the sculpture. This problem gave me the idea to add waves to the base of the neck with clay. While I was originally upset that my piece broke, I realized that not every problem is bad, and sometimes problems cause an even happier ending. Germantown Academy Honors art allows me to learn and adapt at every opportunity, and I can't wait to keep creating.
- Barrie Davis ’25

 

 

Throughout my career as an artist, I have learned how to express my thoughts in real art. In my younger days, I’ve always repressed my creative thoughts to life, by drawing, or even by building houses with my building blocks. I have always had a sense of art in me in whatever I was doing. Enrolling in Ms. Ritz’s Sculpture class has allowed me to express my artwork in ways I have never done before. For instance, my first project was to build a set of shoes out of cardboard. Instead of making a normal pair of shoes, I made 2 pairs of boots that were also working slides. This project showed me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

One project that pushed me beyond my limits was the red chair on display below. This chair was a fun challenge that I took on, not knowing the process behind it. Before creating, I bought the wood, fabric, and sheet metal, and placed it in my yard. I then had to cut the wood with a hand saw and cut the sheet metal. This process was more challenging than I thought, but I continued to build it not giving up. I then placed everything where it was today and covered it with fabric, which was also very challenging. Even though it took some critical thinking, seeing my work in life gave me a great feeling of happiness. Another project that was a challenge was my clay spotted ray. This project taught me to not give up and to continue.

When constructing my artwork now, I want people to stare at it and wonder. I want them to wonder how and why I made it. I want my artwork to be more than art, and for it to give people a sense of joy. I thank you for reading and I hope when you look at my work, you wonder.
- Robert Leeds ’25