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"Lowell"
Colored Pencil Drawing by Arianna Mayer
2009 D. Bradley Smith Art Purchase Award Winner

Photo of the Artwork

Photo of the Artist Arianna Mayer has some piercings of her own, but it was the piercings of others -- "body mods" -- that provided the unifying theme of the three-work concentration required by her Portfolio Preparation class at BHS. Arianna's colored pencil drawing of her friend Lowell won the 2009 D. Bradley Smith Art Purchase Award for 2-dimensional work.

Debra Burger, the Galaxy Advisor under whose guidance Arianna developed layout designs, points out that this portrait of Lowell clearly communicates Arianna's voice as an artist, a quality that cannot always be seen in a young artist's work. It was that voice, that characteristic, that made this work stand out above many other excellent pieces, in the view of the teachers choosing the award winner.

For Arianna, her drawing is not about winning awards, nor is she in love with the pursuit of novelty or the cutting edge in her art. Much as she has enjoyed the opportunity to explore a wide variety of materials and techniques through her four art classes at BHS, she says that she just really enjoys the process of drawing and portraiture -- the process of capturing her subject realistically simply makes her happy. What better reason is there for an artist to work?

Arianna plans to continue her study of art at Hampshire College, along with a focus on Biology. She's a self-motivated student who hopes to make the most of the opportunities provided by the Five-College Consortium to study at any of the member colleges in Western Massachusetts. Hampshire was founded with students like Arianna in mind, who can thrive on a self-designed program, and we think she'll be very successful!

photo of the artwork provided by Arianna Mayer
photo of the artist provided by Debra Burger
story by Jim Kane

June 18, 2009


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