WELCOME TO THE AVATAR!
The Avatar is a monthly publication filled with student works and projects all centered around art & literary works, set on showcasing the creative talents of our school. From painting, to writing, to performances, the Avatar is here to display the young artists of our generation in order to promote their growth. We hope to see some of your artwork in our March edition! Submit to avatar@apps.limashawnee.com for a chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card!
Greetings From The Editor!
Welcome to the Avatar! This February edition is filled with Romanticism... or the lack thereof. The origins of Valentine’s Day are rather murky, with few historic facts to support the lore. The holiday is often traced to the feast of Lupercalia, an ancient Roman fertility festival held annually on February 15, named for the she-wolf, or lupa, who nursed Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. But despite these dark origins, we are still able to make some great art to show the people in our lives how much we love them.
If you would like to share some of your art for a chance to be one of our gift card winners, submit to avatar@apps.limashawnee.com to be featured in next month's edition. Congratulations to this month's gift card winner, Cindy Scangarella!
STUDENT ARTICLES
Happy Valentines Day... And Black History Month!!
By Jazmyn Scott
Whether you had a significant other for valentines day or not, the Avatar staff has got you! Here is a playlist filled with some old amazing love songs featuring mostly African American music artists to help us celebrate Black History Month! I really enjoy making playlists that encompass a feeling and I feel like this playlist was able to do that pretty well. So if you'd like to listen I've got the link for it below this article!
The Memory Project
By Lauren Niesen
This year's advanced drawing and painting students decided to do something exciting and unique this year as a project, while utilizing the portrait skills they have earned in class. They wanted to give back and use their gifts to spread smiles all around the world. Senior Shandon Sewell says that he "enjoyed being a part of someone's life in a positive way." With the help of the Memory Project, the students were able to draw portraits for 15 children from India, allowing the orphan children to have some joyful memories to carry with them, along with their own handmade and heartfelt painting.
ROMANTICISM: IS IT REALLY ROMANTIC?
By Jazmyn Scott
Looking at this piece, you are able to see all of the warm colors beautifully blended together creating what seems to be the perfect abstract painting. But in reality, this painting shows a heart-wrenching story which is a classic theme within the Romanticism period of art. The truth is that almost all of the art from this time period has nothing to do with romance and everything to do with the struggles that the people in the world were facing during the time. Romanticism was an artistic and literary movement in the early to mid 1800s. This specific painting is called The Slave Ship by J.M.W Turner. If you take a closer look you can see that on the left side of the piece, there is a ship that is carrying slaves, and scattered throughout the water are the bodies of the sick and dying slaves that were thrown overboard. The backstory for this painting was that The captain of the ship was informed that his insurance company would only reimburse him for the slaves that were lost at sea, not for those who died on the ship. This sick and twisted story inspired this gorgeous painting with so much meaning behind it. And that is how so many of the romantic artworks came to be.
Senior Visual & Performing Arts Spotlight
By Jazmyn Scott
This Month's visual arts spotlight goes to Oleh Zhuk! Oleh started to make art when he was six years old by redrawing his favorite Disney characters. He started creating his original art when he turned 14. His favorite medium to do art in is digital because "it is very convenient" and makes it much easier for him to "add very small details". Oleh's least favorite medium to work in is oil painting because of how messy it is and how difficult it is to fix the mistakes that are made on a piece. Despite his contempt for oil paint, Oleh loves making all kinds of art because it "it brings [him] peace and [he] can just relax or express all [his] emotions in a drawing, thus freeing [himself] from negativity". A common theme within his artworks is his home country of Ukraine, which you can see in his AP Art Portfolio. Oleh says that his portfolio is about Ukraine, "about what is happening there, who is struggling because of the war, and how it affects the whole world." His talent doesn't stop with visual art though, because our beloved Bug is also involved in the performing arts. His love for acting began when he was young. "My friends and I pretended to be different characters from cartoons or films, we created our own plots and could play like that for hours." says Oleh. He began acting for real in 2020 when he began attending an acting school where he would study various techniques and practice on sketches, develop his own short projects and apply to various advertising companies. He didn't begin to act in front of crowds until he came to The States. He has played the character Jonathan in Dracula at the Encore theater and is currently in the process of rehearsing for Shawnee High School Drama's production of the Somewhat True Tales of Robin Hood. The Show dates are March 31st and April 1st so come out to support one of our favorite exchange students!
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Hog Creek Hardin
OSU is publishing works of Ohio State Lima students and the surrounding high school students. It promotes new writers and highlights regional works. Submit three brief stories (1500 word maximum).
Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2023
Artists of all backgrounds are encouraged to enter. Submission can be in any medium, but it need to be a self portrait.
International Comic/Manga School Contest
Organized by a Japanese graphics software company, this contest includes comics, mangas, webtoons, storyboards, and illustrations. These can be completed by any editing or art software and must be your own work. If you complete it traditionally then you must do a digital scan. The theme is light and dark and it’s free to enter with a prize of 1,700 dollars per category
Shawnee Band of One Travels to Florida
By Cooper Rummel
After years of anticipation, the Shawnee High School Band of One made their way to Florida to march in front of the world. This trip began February 16th at 1:30 in the morning on a two hour charter bus ride to the John Glenn National Airport, and then a short plane ride to Orlando. Everyone was giddy with delight once we had reached the The Rosen Centre, our hotel. We then departed to our first main stop on the trip, Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was a very bright and vibrant park with many parts of the world to explore and enjoy, Africa, Asia, and more. We went home after a very long day, we were up for more than 24 hours, and immediately fell asleep, the hotel was silent. Next up was Universal Studios, which was also quite fun. Sadly, we only spent half a day there, and we then went to Disney springs where we enjoyed dinner, and then Cirque du Soleil, a show with beautiful choreography and a very moving story about a girl whose father passed away and decided that she would take up art and finish what he started. The third day was Hollywood Studios, which was very exciting for everyone because of one thing, Star Wars World. I think that we can all agree that even non-Star Wars fans, like me, can even enjoy this park. If you plan on ever going to Disney World, it’s definitely a must try. We then enjoyed Fantasmic, a very enjoyable light and fire show, then headed straight to bed. Then finally the big day, the day of our performance, Magic Kingdom had come. Magic Kingdom was amazing, through and through, and I’ve even been there multiple times. About 12:50 we reported for our show, and headed backstage, which sadly I cannot tell you about. Honestly, despite the fact we were all about to perform in front of thousands of people, we weren’t that nervous, we played, we marched, but overall, we had fun. Although we were all hurting and very exhausted, we all can agree we had fun. The final day was Epcot, very calm, a nice day just to chill and enjoy some rides and the pretty scenery from around the world. After a long but enjoyable 12 hours at Epcot, we headed, for the last time, back to the hotel. Everyone was very excited to get home, reminiscing over the fun we had over the past 5 days. All in all, getting home and laying in my own bed was a huge comfort, but a part of me will always miss Disney, and the very exclusive experience of enjoying it with your whole band.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Nineteen Shawnee High School students have received recognition in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by The Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Their twenty-two creative works will be on display at the FWMoA (Fort Wayne Museum of Art) from February 11-April 8!
"The Scholastic awards have brought many opportunities over the last two years. Being able to participate has been an honor. Scholastics has allowed me to express my creativity in an unusual way. I want to thank Ms. Trueblood for being a inspirational teacher". -Maggie Stoddard
AVATAR'S BLAST FROM THE PAST
By Dex Hooker
I chose these two creative works to spotlight because they both left me thinking about something. They evoked feeling which in my opinion is what art should do.
Artwork (left) by Heather Brenneman, 1994 Avatar Edition
A Canvas Painted Beach
I touched the sandman placed, imprisoned within my stolen paints.
Greed, soft Greed.
I felt the passion through his secret dreams
And the pain that melts his face.
- Traciee Lucas, 1994 Avatar Edition
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS (ARTWORK)
MULTI-MEDIA SUBMISSIONS
By Ethan Truesdale (Music and Short Story)
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS (WRITTEN WORK)
Broken Glass
By Anonymous
One day, a young woman picked up a unique glass,
But the glass was shattered, pieces of it sprawled like heaps of ash,
She picked it up and smiled at the pieces left intact,
But her happiness was faltered with, "Don't touch that it'll cut an ugly gash",
She smiled once but frowned inside at their perspective of the item,
"For surely just because it's broken doesn't mean that it's less vital",
The shards upon the grass scraped the feet of all who passed,
Their blood left paths of broken memories and joy of a buried past,
However none turned around to see what they thought did not need healing,
For no one stopped to give a thought to product made but beaten,
She turned her gaze and slipped away worried of what they'd think,
But still her mind was stone and strong even as she was afraid,
She'd prove to all who'd listen that the glass was just as good,
Cause even if the glass was broken, beautiful it stood
Memories
By Anonymous
The last whisper of a sealed memory,
Something that seemed so crystal clear,
You look back one day and realize somely,
Those thoughts you had were bounded by fear,
There were no happy children laughing or smiles that lasted hours,
There were no friends who loved each other,
who'd whisper jokes that'd seem to live forever,
The memory you loved or, thought you had, was built upon a paper platter,
It's not meant to stand or rip and bend and slowly peice back together,
The memory you cherish, like the people who vanished, were never yours to keep,
They'll bring you light but slip into the night and disappear to leave you to remember
2022/23 AVATAR STAFF
President - Jazmyn Scott
Vice President - Ethan Truesdale
Avatar Adviser - Mr. Krawetzke
Contributing Members
Dex Hooker, Kenidee Morgan, Caitlyn Smitheram, Noah Sims, Lauren Niesen, Cooper Rummel
Featuring Creative Works by
Cindy Scangarella, Leen Salem, Savannah Hohe, Bre Mullins
Credits:
Created with an image by Ermolaev Alexandr - "Funny cat makes faces near sad cat. isolated on white background"