Classrooms, kitchen tables and art rooms came alive this fall as students responded to two themes. One invited them to reflect on winter traditions. The other encouraged them to consider how they listen to the radio or any kind of audio.
All three artists come from Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan. Their artwork will be featured in NHPR thank you cards, holiday notes and special messages throughout the coming year, giving listeners and supporters a chance to enjoy the next generation of New Hampshire’s creative talent.
Below, the artists share the stories behind their work in their own words.
Mascoma Radio by Mia McLaughlin
“When I found out that the theme for the NHPR Young Artist Project was radio, I was brought back to the peaceful fifth period during my freshman year when my friends started their own radio show for Mascoma High School. I loved it down there in the radio station space because I felt so at home and it was great to get to hang out with all my friends. I want my art to bring people some of the peace I felt while making this artwork.”
Skiing at Ragged by Brynn Higbie
“Skiing at Ragged is an illustration that represents my favorite activity in the winter which is skiing. Ragged is the mountain I go skiing on with my family. I have a lot of lovely memories sitting with my mom at the tables inside the lodge eating fresh cookies and watching the people outside skiing down the mountain. The people in the drawing are not anyone specific. I just made them up for the picture. I used alcohol markers mostly because I wanted more practice using them for a finished illustration rather than just sketching. This is the first time I have ever made something with them that I have been happy with.”
Where Wolves Wander by Joselyn DeAquino
“Growing up, I had an innate infatuation with animals. Wolves in particular. In this piece my silhouette is rather blurred. I worked to paint the light to highlight the wolves and the landscape. I struggled to pinpoint how I wanted to create my snow quite a bit. Originally the snow was formed as large globs. With time I accepted the fact that I had to redo the sky and snow over again to get the desired effect. As a child I was always attached to objects almost equally as much as humans. These days I am capable of accepting and adapting to improve for the best. Change is common in our lives even if on the outside one might have no idea.”
The NHPR Young Artists Project continues to celebrate the creativity that lives everywhere in New Hampshire. We are grateful to the students who shared their work this year and to the teachers who encouraged them. Their imagination will brighten inboxes, mailboxes and moments of gratitude all year long.
