Featured Artists
Artist: Angela Yuan
Piece: "Incoming"
If I had to describe myself, I suppose I’d call myself a stressed-out teenager who really needs more sleep. Beyond that I am an intellectual, a pianist, an avid reader, and a fairly frequent traveler.
As President of the Writing Club, I write regularly. Setting time aside to write at least once a week has helped me tremendously in honing my technical skills as a writer, and I often experiment with different writing methods while there; I’ll mess around with diction, sentence structure, allegories and imagery, etc. (If you’re reading this, you should join. See either me or Mr. Farrell for details.)
If I had to name a few, two of my greatest inspirations are E. E. Cummings and Zora Neale Hurston. Cummings’ creativity with grammatical structure and style have greatly influenced my writing style, and I always aspire to write with the eloquence that Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God exudes. The piece that really got me into writing was a poem called “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins; it was the first time I’d read a poem without a regular rhyme scheme, and I remember thinking that, in addition to the brilliantly simple execution, there was something rather poignant about the subject matter itself that spoke to me. The poem’s ability to communicate seemingly atypical emotions was fascinating. Even now, language continues to amaze me with its complexity.
“Incoming” is a piece I wrote that discusses the college application process in an abstract manner, using rainclouds to represent both applications and the overwhelming sense of doom that they create. The writing process was something of a challenge, I’ll admit. I typically type up a few drafts that approach the same narrative from different angles before I consider any piece “finished,” but for this particular story I wrote and edited the same copy. I struggled with the voice quite a bit—I’ve always disliked pieces that don’t feel “polished,” and I had to actively maintain the draft-like quality of the piece to match the narrator’s demeanor and thought process. As for the development of the plot: though the beginning is bleak, the story evolves through the course of the narrator’s somewhat incoherent rant as the narrator slowly begins to question the “doom and gloom” vision of the future; near the beginning of the coda, the narrator literally and figuratively reconnects with reality, the ink blots gone from the natural terrain. I wanted this piece to be hopeful, a product of my belief in human resilience. I hope it accomplishes that.
Artist: Angela Yuan
Piece: "Incoming"
If I had to describe myself, I suppose I’d call myself a stressed-out teenager who really needs more sleep. Beyond that I am an intellectual, a pianist, an avid reader, and a fairly frequent traveler.
As President of the Writing Club, I write regularly. Setting time aside to write at least once a week has helped me tremendously in honing my technical skills as a writer, and I often experiment with different writing methods while there; I’ll mess around with diction, sentence structure, allegories and imagery, etc. (If you’re reading this, you should join. See either me or Mr. Farrell for details.)
If I had to name a few, two of my greatest inspirations are E. E. Cummings and Zora Neale Hurston. Cummings’ creativity with grammatical structure and style have greatly influenced my writing style, and I always aspire to write with the eloquence that Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God exudes. The piece that really got me into writing was a poem called “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins; it was the first time I’d read a poem without a regular rhyme scheme, and I remember thinking that, in addition to the brilliantly simple execution, there was something rather poignant about the subject matter itself that spoke to me. The poem’s ability to communicate seemingly atypical emotions was fascinating. Even now, language continues to amaze me with its complexity.
“Incoming” is a piece I wrote that discusses the college application process in an abstract manner, using rainclouds to represent both applications and the overwhelming sense of doom that they create. The writing process was something of a challenge, I’ll admit. I typically type up a few drafts that approach the same narrative from different angles before I consider any piece “finished,” but for this particular story I wrote and edited the same copy. I struggled with the voice quite a bit—I’ve always disliked pieces that don’t feel “polished,” and I had to actively maintain the draft-like quality of the piece to match the narrator’s demeanor and thought process. As for the development of the plot: though the beginning is bleak, the story evolves through the course of the narrator’s somewhat incoherent rant as the narrator slowly begins to question the “doom and gloom” vision of the future; near the beginning of the coda, the narrator literally and figuratively reconnects with reality, the ink blots gone from the natural terrain. I wanted this piece to be hopeful, a product of my belief in human resilience. I hope it accomplishes that.
Artist: Iliana Beltzer
Pieces: Snow, Death, Growing up Everywhere, Depression, Becoming Monster, Control
Please tell us about yourself:
My name is Iliana and I love to write poetry. I sing, play piano, and cook. When I go to college I would like to study journalism and philosophy.
Tell us some of your favorites:
My favorite food is Chinese, my favorite artist is Crywolf and my favorite writers are Rupi Kaur and Nikki Giovanni. My inspirations come from Rupi Kaur because she is so real with her work and is not afraid to write what she feels.
Do you have a background in the arts/writing? If so, please describe it. If not, how did you come to writing/art?
I never really was a writer but I always wrote in my journal when I was sad or upset as a kid. Writing was like an escape for me. Some people like movies; I like books. My pieces were written from my life and experiences with loss and trauma. I wrote how I felt and I have had a lot of pain in my life so I channeled that energy to my writing.
Pieces: Snow, Death, Growing up Everywhere, Depression, Becoming Monster, Control
Please tell us about yourself:
My name is Iliana and I love to write poetry. I sing, play piano, and cook. When I go to college I would like to study journalism and philosophy.
Tell us some of your favorites:
My favorite food is Chinese, my favorite artist is Crywolf and my favorite writers are Rupi Kaur and Nikki Giovanni. My inspirations come from Rupi Kaur because she is so real with her work and is not afraid to write what she feels.
Do you have a background in the arts/writing? If so, please describe it. If not, how did you come to writing/art?
I never really was a writer but I always wrote in my journal when I was sad or upset as a kid. Writing was like an escape for me. Some people like movies; I like books. My pieces were written from my life and experiences with loss and trauma. I wrote how I felt and I have had a lot of pain in my life so I channeled that energy to my writing.
Artist: Owen Greenfield
Pieces: Black Acura, Earl
Tell us some of your favorites:
I love Rap, to me it can be the most expressive and versatile genre of music. Not that mainstream stuff though. Taylor Swift from 2011 is the best.
Pablo Picasso is my favorite artist, as well as Jackson Pollock.
I love the GAP, I rep the brand everyday.
Please talk briefly about your inspirations:
My inspirations range from Picasso and cubism, to Pollock and abstract Impressionism. I’ve also been inspired by urban street art, such as graffiti and even underground hip hop. Anything really with a loose and vibrant style can attract my attention and provide inspiration.
Do you have a background in the arts/writing? If so, please describe it. If not, how did you come to writing/art?
I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pen, however, I only started taking it seriously after 8th grade.
Please tell us about your pieces:
My pieces are expressions of mood though the human face. I don’t want to say too much, I believe the viewer is so posed to give their own meaning to it.
Please describe your creative process.
Once I am inspired, I find a certain mood for the piece and a feeling to convey, then I build my piece around that. For my bigger projects I will sketch out rough drafts and such.
Pieces: Black Acura, Earl
Tell us some of your favorites:
I love Rap, to me it can be the most expressive and versatile genre of music. Not that mainstream stuff though. Taylor Swift from 2011 is the best.
Pablo Picasso is my favorite artist, as well as Jackson Pollock.
I love the GAP, I rep the brand everyday.
Please talk briefly about your inspirations:
My inspirations range from Picasso and cubism, to Pollock and abstract Impressionism. I’ve also been inspired by urban street art, such as graffiti and even underground hip hop. Anything really with a loose and vibrant style can attract my attention and provide inspiration.
Do you have a background in the arts/writing? If so, please describe it. If not, how did you come to writing/art?
I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pen, however, I only started taking it seriously after 8th grade.
Please tell us about your pieces:
My pieces are expressions of mood though the human face. I don’t want to say too much, I believe the viewer is so posed to give their own meaning to it.
Please describe your creative process.
Once I am inspired, I find a certain mood for the piece and a feeling to convey, then I build my piece around that. For my bigger projects I will sketch out rough drafts and such.