TC Art Students Gain Colorful Experience

“It gave me my first abstract work with contemporary colors,” was what T.C. senior Oscar Flores had to say of his mentorship at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

While such a comment may sound full of artistic technicalities, it is not uncommon to hear such things in a visit to a T.C. art classroom. The fact is, T.C.’s Art students are excelling at the local and national level. Whether they are aspiring to be the next Picasso or just looking to have fun and be creative, T.C.’s artists are leaving their mark on their community and representing their school in a very positive way.

Mentorships at the Torpedo Factory

Five T.C. students recently took their artistic abilities and left the grounds of the school to learn about professional art and “explore new mediums,” as junior Kasey Kraft put it.

T.C. art students Oscar Flores, Kasey Kraft, Ian Zuidema, Maggie Cashion, and Margie Obeng all participated in a mentorship experience at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Each was paired up with a professional artist currently working at the Torpedo Factory. Throughout their mentorship, the T.C. students studied different techniques, styles, and mediums with which one can create art. Each student then co-created a piece of art with their professional mentor, applying the new methods learned throughout the experience.

Junior Ian Zuiduma created several pieces of art while studying with his mentor. One of those pieces is a huge colorful, spiral piece that now hangs from his art classroom at T.C. At the end of the experience, T.C. students were allowed to keep their artwork as part of their portfolio.

Art Shows

While the artists of T.C. create the majority of their work within the actual school building, many pieces of their work are being recognized throughout Alexandria. On April 25th, the Torpedo Factory hosted its first annual T.C. student art display in their Target Gallery. Representatives from the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria City Public Schools, and the T.C. Williams Art Department were all present to commend T.C. Art students for creating pieces of art worthy of community recognition. Many students won awards from the Torpedo Factory, including Art I student Aftila Yovuzer for his inspiring metallic piece “Metallurgphophacitarecttalgiatucia”.

Also on the agenda for the T.C. Art Department is its exhibition at the Del Ray Artisans Gallery near Mt. Vernon Elementary School. The show will open with a ceremony on May 7th and will be open the weekends of May 7th and May 14th. The presentation of Titan art will include an array of visual art forms including computer graphic design, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional forms.

National Art Honors Society

Several T.C. art students have also distinguished themselves as worthy of a membership in the National Art Honors Society. They include Matt Crawley, Kasey Kraft, Oscar Flores, Connor Sullivan, Hallie Lenneman, Ian Zuidema, Madeline Bryan, Tai Li Nelson, Sarah Schwarz, Sloane Siegel, Ben Turnbull, Morricone Monreal, Catherine Guzzi and Kate Young.

Junior Ben Turnbull, one of the new inductees into the Art Honors Society, described the criteria for getting in “You have to have not only good grades in art class but excellent artistic ability too.”