September 30, 2024 by Sarah Pipino (‘26)
Saratoga Springs High School is known for many things, ranging from our sports teams to our community participation, and even our high test scores. However, I believe we should add one more thing to that list: our very own student artists! Our school is chock full of talented students, and I had the pleasure of getting to ask them some questions about their art (and see some pretty cool pieces!).
Alex Wersten (12th Grade)
Alex has been making art his entire life, beginning in preschool and continuing on to today. He lets his creativity flow by using colorful media like “markers, colored pencils, or even digital graphic design,” (as seen in the art above). He says markers are preferable to add boldness to his physical pieces. Sweetly, the artist who Wersten takes inspiration from is his elementary art teacher, Mrs. Iskaros, as she has helped him to develop his craft, and he appreciates her style of art. When asked why he does art, he answered, “I do art because I think it’s such a good outlet for people to express themselves in a visual way, and art is also a creative process that can help others find the spark of imagination that they need to create and design.” A tip he’d give to beginner artists is: “remain persistent. There might be times where you’re completely out of ideas… but if you just keep going… you could be creating a modern masterpiece.”
Mae Nolan (11th Grade)
The earliest Mae can remember making art is third grade, to be more like her older sister and dad, and from that, she has evolved into a prominent student artist at Toga. Her favorite media is by far graphite, because she finds pencil, “so much easier to control,” but she also dabbles in marker and acrylic. Mae’s current idol is Fiona Staples, the illustrator behind her favorite comic. In response to being asked what her motivation is to create art, she answered, “I draw mostly to entertain myself and as a way to express my creativity. I’m not one for writing so I show my obsessions through drawings. It’s also a great thing to do while not paying attention in class,” (sorry teachers!). Just like Alex, Nolan encourages newbies to “keep persisting… You won’t be a pro right away, but you will get better with practice. Have confidence and practice until you can’t.”
Macc Jenkins (10th Grade)
Macc, another gifted artist, has been dedicated to her craft for almost four years now. Although her main medium is drawing digitally, as seen in the beautiful pieces above, her favorite medium is oil paint. She says that she’s inspired greatly by her favorite artist “Randd, who is a close friend.” I think I can say for everyone that supportive and inspiring friendships are the best! Macc said she does art for, “the experience and the joy art brings [her].” Her words to new artists are quick yet encouraging: “You just gotta go with the flow and find your own thing.”
