UNINTENTIONAL ART
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By: Dylan Saunders
etting distracted during class looks a bit different for NRHS artists than it does for most students. Those without artistic talents can produce a few stick figures and smiley faces in the margins of their papers. Artists, in comparison, draft visual masterpieces during math classes (or whenever else the inspiration strikes). Some of NRHS’s senior artists have provided examples and insight into their creative processes. Ella Mordaunt remembers how easy it was to zone out and “end up drawing without even realizing” as early as elementary school. As a senior, Ella said that her mind never stopped wandering, but her aptitude for visual art has grown. Outside of her participation in ceramics, drawing, studio, the NRHS Art League, and the National Art Honors Society, Ella likes to flex her creative muscles during her other classes. “Especially now,” Ella said, “I’m at home full time with many distractions.” Last January, Ella sketched some members of her math class (left). “They didn’t move much, so I took that opportunity to draw them,” said Ella. In March, Ella created similar sketches of “something from each of the classes [she] was in” (right). A water bottle in German class, a Chromebook and dolphin plushie from English class, a faucet in science, and a door frame in math class were Ella’s muses for the day. Although photography is Emma Kelley’s medium of choice, she isn’t afraid to branch out when class gets a bit dull. Emma enjoys losing herself in the magical world of Harry Potter, something that shows quite clearly in her distracted doodles. “I had already read the Harry Potter series six times, and I was really bored,” said Emma about her drawing to the left. “I drew this in eighth grade during silent reading.” The sketch features a few easily recognizable characters, including Hagrid, Hermione, and Harry Potter. The building in the background mirrors the haphazard architecture seen in the live-action Harry Potter films. Emma describes the cartoonish elderly gentleman pictured on the right as “my own version of Dumbledore.” Similar to her work in eighth grade, Emma drew inspiration from rewatching “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” the night before a science and sustainability lecture. This alternative Dumbledore, unlike his live-action counterpart, has a dark beard and carries a gem-tipped staff.
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