May 5, 2022 | When Cleveland Hopkins International Airport called for submissions for a new exhibit for its Youth Art Gallery, Lorain City Schools' young artists responded in force. The result is that 17 of the 50 works now on display are from student artists from Longfellow and Southview middle schools.
Serenity Taylor, Longfellow Middle School
The young artists’ artwork was selected from hundreds of submissions from across Northeast Ohio for the Art of Self-Portraiture exhibit on display from now until May 2023 near airport baggage claim.
Born out of a desire to share the rich artistic talent of Northeast Ohio, the CLE Art Program catches the eyes of millions of visitors each year. And from an education standpoint, the Youth Art Gallery is the perfect way to show budding artists that their creativity is valued.
Longfellow art teacher Jacqueline Murdock, the district’s visual arts coordinator, said students embraced the theme of self-portraiture with the encouragement to “think outside the box and find their own personal voice.”
“Longfellow students took individual approaches to their artwork. All students had mirrors to look at as they were creating them,” Murdock said. “No one at Longfellow used electronics to enlarge their images from photos. They used their own personal artistic style to create theirs. Hence the differences in the artwork.
“The content — the messages they are trying to convey in their artwork — is just as important as the form. That's what true artists do.”
Murdock said she used examples from the high school portraits in the 2022 Lorain County Scholastic Art Show as part of the inspiration for her students’ self-portraits.
“The pieces that stand out are the ones that show the artists’ individual style,” she said.
Southview Visual Arts Teacher Amanda Kubicki said asking students to do self-portraits was easy — especially considering the world students live in today.
"I simply asked them to find a selfie that they felt confident in," she said. "That was all the inspiration they needed. The students are constantly taking selfies, so it wasn't much of a stretch for most of them.
"I personally feel that all the portraits embodied their personalities. I am proud of all the students who completed these portraits."
Robbie Shaw, Southview Middle School
Serenity Taylor, Longfellow Middle School
Audrya Arroyo, Longfellow Middle School
Joslyn Lauterbach, Longfellow Middle School
Jousleirys Villaneuva, Longfellow Middle School
Javian Contreras, Longfellow Middle School
Rilee Sexton, Southview Middle School
Brandon Chambers, Southview Middle School
Chelsea Wright, Southview Middle School
Leah Scarvelli, Southview Middle School
Junior Rivera, Southview Middle School
Janiya Torres, Southview Middle School
Isabelle Moore-Sexton, Southview Middle School
Valeria Maldonado, Southview Middle School
Hezalana Davila, Southview Middle School
Robbie Shaw, Southview Middle School
Rowan Wolfe, Southview Middle School
Jasmin Rivera, Southview Middle School