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In a Pickle<br />
Victoria Okai<br />
Grade: 11<br />
School: Frank Sinatra School<br />
of the <strong>Art</strong>s High School,<br />
Queens<br />
<strong>Art</strong> Teacher: Jane Kahn<br />
Graphite on paper<br />
STUDENT: I’m always comparing<br />
my will to improve in any<br />
aspect to my growth as an<br />
artist. I feel I am proving<br />
myself worthy by producing<br />
beautiful artwork. Creating<br />
artwork simply makes me<br />
happy, and sometimes I<br />
can’t get that sort of feeling<br />
from other endeavors. Dr.<br />
Kahn is always encouraging<br />
creativity and individuality.<br />
As I work on assignments<br />
I begin to discover more<br />
about myself. I think it’s called selfpeeling.<br />
This project involved pulling<br />
inspiration from a series of figure<br />
drawings to create a composition of<br />
multiple figures. The concept of this<br />
piece derived from the pickles that<br />
I frequently find myself in. I wanted<br />
to depict my figure in a relaxed<br />
pose, although I am in a boxing ring,<br />
because I find that I usually handle<br />
situations with nonchalance, whether<br />
I’m in the position to or not. Graphite<br />
is a challenging medium because of its<br />
smudging qualities, but I was pleased<br />
by the clean result in this work.<br />
TEACHER: Students drew from the<br />
figure over a period of several weeks,<br />
creating a portfolio of figure drawings,<br />
to lead up to this assignment.<br />
Students selected two or more of<br />
their drawings to develop into a<br />
composition, placing the figures<br />
into an environment or situation of<br />
their own imagining. One goal in<br />
this junior-level drawing class is to<br />
develop highly finished drawings.<br />
Students first needed to deepen their<br />
understanding of the figure through<br />
observational drawings, and then to<br />
apply that knowledge to developing<br />
an original drawing that represented<br />
an idea or concept. In a Pickle grew<br />
out of Viki’s experience of being<br />
snowed in out in Long Island without<br />
her portfolio of drawings, with the<br />
final drawing due the next day. Viki<br />
took full advantage of the freedom<br />
this assignment offered, depicting<br />
both a sense of her own adolescent<br />
dilemma as well as her fierce, witty<br />
humor. This conceptual aspect, along<br />
with the exceptional draftsmanship<br />
and the high degree of finish, makes<br />
this an outstanding artwork.<br />
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