Grace Gasperi
(9th)
Design & Draw
I love art because I can make something that shows an intense emotion without words or faces. I also love that the emotion can changes for whoever is looking at it, all based on their own life experiences. I think this exchange is best summed up by a quote from Ray Bradbury in his book Fahrenheit 451, “I don’t talk things, I talk the meaning of things.”
Alissa Miller
(10th)
Intermediate Drawing
Writing about art has always been a strange concept to me. It’s art, it’s natural, there’s nothing about it that I feel that must be written. Art has taken so many forms around me in my life; from when I would accompany my grandfather to work and watch as he made floor plans for buildings, to coming home and watching my grandmother weld the most beautiful jewelry I’ve ever seen. Art is more an experience and process to me, just like how watching art around me when I was young has lead me to becoming an artist myself. With my art I hope to at least enrich the lives of others like my grandparents did, or at least create something nice to look at, even for a few moments.
Emily Rea
(10th)
Graphic Design
I am a person who really enjoys doing art. Why?Bbecause I find peace and relaxation when doing it because its where I can put whatever I am thinking onto a canvas and just paint or draw it. Also, I'm just a creative person in general and I get a lot of little ideas of drawing or paintings I want to do randomly. The main thing I enjoy about art is the mess it makes when doing it traditionally. And Yes that does sound a little weird like, Why do I enjoy the mess? Well to me making a mess when painting or doing any type of artwork like saying that I'm doing art correctly because when you make a mess you make mistakes and making mistakes is a good thing or how our good friend Bob Ross would say "We don't make mistakes we make happy little accidents." What I enjoy about art digitally is that I can make things more symmetrical, because I am the type of person where everything needs to be perfect and if it isn't its gonna bug me, so working on art digitally helps with that.
Zander Ornes
(10th)
Design & Draw
Art is a way for me to be creative and express myself. It is fun and enjoyable to for me. It is also really rewarding to see a final project I am proud of and like.
Kiley Friend
(11th)
Intermediate Drawing
Art is just one of the many hobbies I have. It’s also the one hobby that I’ve always gone back to, time after time. I’ve experimented with several medias yet I’ve never found a favorite. I have tried digital art, painting, sewing, crafting, and even a little fun with spray paint. Yet with each media I try, I always create something meaningful to me. It’s the best thing about art, the different perspectives of a piece. It’s why I always come back to it.
Madison Whalen
(10th)
Intermediate Drawing
Art has been basically my favorite thing forever. I love being able to create whatever I can imagine! When I was younger I organized a neighborhood art club for all the kids in my neighborhood and it was the coolest thing ever! I would really like to do something related to art for my whole life. It gives me more joy than most anything else!
Raith Reed
(10th)
Design & Draw
My name is Raith Reed. I'm 16 years old. My house is in the northwest section of congress, where the parks are. I attend Park Hill High School. I get home every day by 3 PM at the latest. I don't smoke, and I don’t drink. I'm in bed by 11 PM, and make sure I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm milk and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, I usually have no problems sleeping until morning. I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning. I'm trying to explain that I'm a person who wishes to live a quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. Although, I wouldn't lose to anyone. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. You might be pondering to yourself how what I have stated would be affiliated with my artwork and the simple explanation is that without art it would become an impossibility to experience the peaceful life I strive to attain.
Rin Snow
(9th)
Design & Draw
I’ve loved art more than anything for as long as I can remember. I love it because it shows the complexity and raw emotions of the artist while making the viewer become introspective and/or emotional. Art makes me feel a range of emotions, while it also makes me think deeply, viewing it, and creating it. Creating art gives me an emotional release, which is also why I love it so much. Art has helped me through the hardest times of my life. Art is the reason that I’m here, breathing, walking, talking, another day. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into the art I create, especially if it’s for school. I hope to work within an artistic industry as a career, as it would help me fulfill one of many of my life’s purposes; which is to have my thought-provoking ideas broadcasted to the world.
Ray Selby
(10th)
Design & Draw
I've been drawing and creating art my entire life, but I started taking it more seriously when I was nine years old. Ever since then it has always been a huge part of my life and who I am. I always strive to have my art be as unique and special to me as possible. Art has always been my favorite thing to do, and I can't wait to create even more pieces!
Evie Headley
(9th)
Design & Draw
I love art, I have since I was little. School museum trips were never fun unless we saw art there. I love drawing and painting and creating art, it gives me confidence and it gives me a sense of purpose. All my art teachers have been amazing, they were always the teachers I connected with most, I think they influenced me a good deal. My mom and my dad are both Musicians, and yes I also love music, but I always connected more with art. That warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie feeling it gives you when you look at a piece is the best feeling, to me.
Caitlynn Porras
(10th)
Design & Draw
I have been drawing since I was little. Of course it wasn’t all that good and all but it was still something I took pride in drawing. I have had my good pieces and my bad ones, I’m not Bob Ross. Art for my middle school and high school years has been a sort of escape for me. I can draw and do whatever I want in art and people won’t see it, unless I want them to. I tend to always end up in an artist block and can’t draw much than pointless doodles, but whenever I come out of artists block or really try my hardest, my art is the best its ever been. Many people have not seen all of my art and what I actually tend to draw, they only see what I do for art projects. Let me tell you, my art style is nothing like what’s in my art projects, its completely different. My art projects for class are probably some of my best works and everyone gets to see them, which makes me happy.
Aurora Geeo
(9th)
Design & Draw
I’ve been drawing since I could remember, its something that I could always use as an escape from reality plus it’s just fun to do, putting your ideas, feeling and thoughts all on paper, but I also do lots of other art to, like sewing, clay and some other stuff. I’ve gone through a lot of art phases, for example I used to draw a lot of cartoon animals, then after that I drew lots of realistic people and now I like creating graphic designs, especially for skateboards. I would love to pursue a career in creating Graphic Designs for people.
Gabe Olivier
(11th)
Graphic Design
The meaning of art to me is creating another world through what you see in your mind. It can show your perspective in life and that is important in how others understand you or try to understand you.
Aidan Mazeitis
(10th)
Intermediate Drawing & Graphic Design
Art isn’t merely a hobby, it defines who I am. Art is a way of escapism and creation for me. I intend to go to college at KC Art Institute, and become a Graphic Designer.
Artist Spotlight: Robin Gillock
1st Place Digital Art Winner
Congratulations to Robin Gillock who not only got two pieces entered into University of Central Missouri Competitive High School Art Show but also took first place in Digital Art. Robin is an 11th grade student at LEAD who participates in LEAD Connect and spent most of the year focused on her work on creating her own characters. Each character has a name and full backstory to go along with the countless hours she has put into her illustrations. Although the Art Show was never actually opened due to the Stay at Home Order we want to celebrate Robin's hard work. We are so proud, Robin!
Superintendent Art Award
Congratulations to Ben Kiser & Gwenyth Steele who won the Superintendent Art Award for LEAD this year! Their projects will be framed and on display at Central Office for the next year.
Ben Kiser (9th)
Landscape Painting
Gwenyth Steele (10th)
Scratchboard