Visual art has always been an important piece of humanity. Since the beginning, humans have made efforts to express things through art, be it cave drawings or mosaics. This remains true today, and the artists behind works are just as important as the works themselves. Artists at FGHS have been chosen by Pacific University for the 2020 High school art show on the 2nd of March. This is a great opportunity for local students to get their foot in the door when it comes to future opportunities in the art world. Being featured in a show like this looks great on college applications and allows students to be recognized by different groups and be seen. Along with that, it helps student artists get over any fear they have of having their art shown in public, allowing them to be more confident in future endeavors.

Two students who were featured in the art show are Emily Phan, the president of the Art Club at Forest Grove High School, as well as Eleanor Raetzman. Both students have been serious artists for at least three years after coming to the high school and exploring their creativity. Emily Phan explained how her creative art piece featured in the show was based off of a piece that originated where her mother was born, a way of celebrating her Vietnamese heritage. Eleanor Ratzman’s piece was born out of her desire to create a peaceful piece, leading to her choice of a charcoal piece of a mountain and flowers. Both students used charcoal as their style method despite not having used the material frequently, and Eleanor reported having quite a challenge with her piece but being satisfied with her result. Emily explained that she would have added in a few more details, however, she is quite pleased with her result as well and feels she did her lineage justice. This art show has been a wonderful opportunity for the students, not just Eleanor and Emily but other artists as well, to showcase their work and grow as artists for whatever the future has in store for them.