BY JAKE BRYANT
If you had a chance to visit the Education Building at the North Carolina State Fair, you may or may not have noticed something exciting in the “Arts & Photography” section: Cary High School won a blue ribbon in the High School Art Competition! CHS competed against around thirty schools from all throughout North Carolina, and took home the gold! Art from six students, representing Visual Arts II & III Honors, was featured in the exhibit. Their art required a wide array of materials and styles, including neo-expressionism, realism, and (as coined by Ms. Silver) the “Creative Coffee Rings” technique, in which students create coffee rings on an empty canvas, and must create a full-fledged design from them.
Here’s what Junior Abby Lundergan had to say when asked about the journey in creating her piece, and wrestling with a new, abstract style:
“When we originally got the prompt for the project, I was very intimidated by the style of neo-expressionism. However, being encouraged to put weird images and thoughts onto a canvas was really motivating. Creating a self portrait in this style was very freeing and allowed me to create a distinct message; I wanted to portray all the odd perspectives people see others in. Many viewpoints may be out of the ordinary, but it’s our job as a viewer to be open minded. That’s the biggest message I try to reach in all of my art— to simply be open minded.”
And here’s a tidbit from Senior Hunter McCoy on what his piece, and having his art displayed at the State Fair, means to him:
“I think the piece fits the state fair really well. It represents what North Carolina means to me, and I chose to portray that through all of the friends I’ve made and memories I’ve shared. The state, as well as the State Fair, is chiefly about the people you spend your time with. It made me really happy when I was asked for my piece to be brought to the State Fair, and to learn that CHS won first place made this already sentimental art mean so much more to me.”
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