Meet a few of the Shorewood AP Art Students in “Art at the Atrium”

This year was the second annual “Art at the Atrium” showcase, where many Shorewood artists came together and displayed their work for the village. 

SHS Advanced Placement art students Lucie Carignan, senior, and Maria Velikanov, senior, were two out of the select few students who had the opportunity to take part in this showing. 

“I knew [a little] about it when Ms. Mohagen came to me and asked if I wanted to be a part of it,” Carignan said.

Both Carignan and Velikanov have participated in many art programs at SHS. While they both experiment with many mediums, paint is their main focus.

“I do a lot of different stuff, but I’d say [mainly] acrylic, watercolor, and oil paint,” Velikanov said. “Sometimes mixed media, but I usually just paint. I really like seeing how my art turns out as I make it. I like the process of creating it, and yes the end result is cool too but the process is my favorite.

Throughout the year AP Art students spent time crafting their work and drawing from many experiences. 

“I’ve noticed that my art becomes a lot more personal when I create from a place of inspiration, rather than having an idea and trying to make it fit into some meaning,” Carignan said. “The meaning develops as I create that piece.”

At the show, viewers were able to walk around the Atrium and see each artist and their work.

“It was really cool to see everyone’s art, there was some ceramics, a lot of photography… just all different kinds of media,” Carignan said. “People approached [you] and if they were more interested they would ask some questions and I would do a little presentation. I had some things that I was selling so I had a few people buy some things from me.” 

Both Carignan and Velikanov noted that their favorite part about the show was the interest of everyone participating.

“I didn’t sell anything except a few prints to my family, but I wasn’t really expecting to,” Velikanov said. “It was more fun just to talk to people about my art, they were asking and listening. I also really liked seeing the other artists there.”

One of the five pieces Carignan picked is close to her heart.

“The piece I have the most connection with is the girl with headphones, it’s the one I made most recently,” Carignan said. “She represents the embodiment of being cool and stoic, unaffected by what’s going on around her. It’s called intentional attention and it symbolizes a trait I strive for. To remain calm and strong in the face of change or adversity, the headphones and direct eye contact with the viewer symbolizes how she is in control of her attention and focus and unaffected by negative or unwanted distractions.”

The show sparked students’ interest in art, including inspiring them to attend future shows, even as just a viewer. 

“A lot of my friends ended up showing up and they really enjoyed it,” Carignan said. “Even though I was part of the show it kind of made me want to visit some more art shows like that. Everyone was just so nice and really genuinely interested. It was really cool to see everyone really proud of what they created.”