Tomorrow’s graduating Sault Area High School seniors displayed their art portfolios at businesses throughout downtown Sault Ste. Marie yesterday in the Senior Art Walk.
Families and friends strolled around town to look at art created drawn with pencil and charcoal, painted in watercolor and oil, sewn by needle and thread, and so much more. Many spectators met the artists behind their favorite pieces.
Appropriately seen outside Phat Boutique stood the aspiring fashion designer, Jaelyn Azevedo. She will begin living out her dreams at Kent State University in Ohio. Eva Collins was next to her, showing off colorful posterized art.
Just a couple doors down, outside the Crooked Music, stood Yvonne Pine and Kaylynn Danna. Pine showed off her colorful acrylic parrot, among several other works.
“I wanted to express my Native heritage, so I made the medicine wheel,” said Pine.
The red, yellow, green and blue parrot half encompassed the Native wheel.
Meanwhile, Danna’s main peice was inspired by a class project that taught students about red, white and blue patriotism.
“I wanted to represent a soldier in the sunset holding the flag,” said Danna of her watercolor painting.
Standing apart from others, Danna added a quote to her display: “She’s proof that you can walk through Hell and still be an angel.”
“It is one of my favorite quotes,” she said. “It is just very relatable.”
Tessa Woolever hung her artwork from the window of Harmony Health Foods. Her impressionistic pomegranate was painted with warm acrylics. She said it was a real challenge to perfect, but she got it done.
Woolever will attend Michigan State University this fall to learn all about the human mind.
Randi Bumstead could be seen hanging out by Frank’s, talking to bypassers about her drawings and colorful paintings. In some pieces, she combined the two techniques.
“This is a girl falling from pencil to watercolor pencil,” said Bumstead, exhibiting a humanistic metamorphosis.
A posterized feminine image hung in the window over it.
“This is a contrasting color theme of warm versus cold colors,” said Bumstead, who filled in raw shapes with bold dark and light warm colors to draw attention.
Soo Theatre singer and actor will go on to study musical theatre.
Tyler Gibbons displayed his work next to Bumstead’s. The young video game designer in the making will attend Kendall College in Grand Rapids this fall.
A dark image from his darkest nightmares was taped to the window. Gibbon's recreated the dream using colored pencil and ink. He felt it resembled “Bane of the Woodland.”
“It is a cool action piece representing anger and fear,” said Gibbons.
Elizabeth Ohman greeted spectators from outside The Little Gift Shop. A portrait of Michelangelo, himself, drew in any wandering eyes with its dark to light contrast.
“I wanted to try something different,” said the future St. Mary’s psychology student.
Set up at The Palace was Lili McKee and all her work.
“Sunsets in the Sault are everyone's favorite thing,” said McKee, referencing her depiction of a Eastern Upper Peninsula sunset.
Not too far away, one little boy was drawing with his sister in front of Cup of the Day. He was eager to recreate McKee’s green Kermit the Frog Muppet piece.
McKee wants to become a social worker one day.
“I'll be here for a year and maybe go to Ferris State University,” she said.
Mya Hazley met with viewers at Second Childhood Adults Too.
On display was a Christian piece, inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” She explained some of her work.
“This is charcoal and pastel,” said Hazely, showing a stairwell. “The pic was meant to be three times as big.”
She actually cut over a third of the picture to exhibit only its focal point; the stairway to Heaven and Hell.
As irony would have it, a shapeless creature in solid red oil pastel hung near it.
“My art teacher said it was creepy, so I made something creepier,” said Hazely, pointing to the next curvy creature.
A group of friends hung out in front of Moloney’s Alley, accompanied by artists Joanne Arbic and Alyvia Lori.
Arbic is a swimmer set to attend Northern Michigan University, where she will study biology and ecology.
She used watercolor paints to recreate beautiful landscapes.
“I really enjoy being outdoors,” said Arbic, who might decide to become a conservation officer one day.
Lori favored watercolor and landscapes in her work as well.
“My great aunt did watercolor all her life,” Lori said.
But a favorite was her impressionistic hand strumming an old county guitar.
Lori will attend Michigan Technological University for chemical engineering. She soundly made the decision following a visit to its campus.
“Its lab is one of the best in the world,” said Lori. “I really like chemistry and math.”
Other talented participating graduating seniors were Karli Aleshire, Matty Barrow, Brynn Beaulieu, Angelina Cornwell, Danielle Daigleish, Hanna Eavou, Mackenzie King, Robin Slater, Grace Visnaw, Corrine Waucaush, Faith White, Mallory Vert and Billy Atkinson.
Participating businesses included Maloney’s Alley, The Palace Mexican Restaurant and Saloon, Second Childhood Adults Too, The Little Gift Shop, Frank’s Place, Harmony Health Foods, Crooked Music, Phat Boutique, Total Outlook, All Star Graphics and Monocle Jewelers.
