Among the student body lies many artists. These three artists in particular use their art to express creativity, passion and find stress relief.

Ivy Lee

An Apple pencil gently taps on an iPad as strokes of vibrant color fill the screen. With her headphones on noise-canceling, sophomore Ivy Lee is immersed into her own world of imagination. 

For Lee, Art is the expression of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, and she said she focuses on digital art but also does painting and drawing. Though she first found an interest in art as a kid, her passion bloomed during the pandemic. 

“I was really getting into art around the time of quarantine because I made an art account on Instagram,” Lee said. “I made a lot of online friends, and when I got closer to people who also draw, they really influenced my art.” 

According to Lee, a stressful environment like Paly encourages many students to create art to relax and express their creativity. 

“Art is something I can do when I have free time or if I need to calm myself down,” Lee said. “I’m a pretty energetic person who’s filled with ideas all the time, and I have a feeling that my brain is going to just explode if I don’t get them out in some way, shape or form.”

During her drawing sessions, Lee said her art largely depends on her mood and inspiration from other artists.  

“You end up drawing from everything you see,” Lee said. “I always go on Pinterest almost every day to see other people’s art and see what kind of techniques they use or what kind of brushes they use to make textures.” 

But Lee said developing her current artistic skill set took years of practice.

“I’m at the point where I am right now because I have been doing this every day for seven years,” Lee said. “It’s just like any other skill where you really need to hone in and practice.”

Lee advises aspiring artists to remain persistent and not feel discouraged when confronted with a challenge. 

“When you get frustrated because you can’t draw something, ask yourself how many times you did it before,” Lee said. “If you’re trying to fix a car and you’re not an engineer, it’s not like you’re going to get it right the first time, and art is exactly like that. It’s OK to feel frustrated sometimes, but the best thing to do is just to keep going, keep pushing yourself. Never stop drawing.”

Katie Wu 

Senior and Artruism Club President Katie Wu said she also started her art journey at a young age.

“I started taking classes at the age of 5, and I just think I really enjoyed the act of drawing things on the page,” Wu said. “As I grew up, I consumed a lot of artistic media with animations and movies and things like that. Overall, art has just been a steady presence throughout my life.”

Wu said she used her passion for art to create her club, which she said provides a welcoming environment for artists to connect with one another and grow. 

“Artruism is a club that does community service through art, and our name is a combination of the words art and altruism,” Wu said. “As the president, I try to get us projects that the club members will enjoy that will help them both have a larger platform to showcase their artwork and to practice their skills. Along with getting projects, I also try to foster a nice club environment where people feel like they can grow and develop their art skills.”

Wu is taking AP 2-D Art and Design program and said she is working on a portfolio around the theme “Sustain the Investigation”. Her investigation focuses on how adults should retain their childhood wonder as they grow up. 

“One of my pieces is like my older soul reconnecting with my younger self and hobby,” Wu said. “They’re both in the library, and as a child, I was really into reading fantasy books. As I’ve grown up, I haven’t had the chance to read as many of those fantasy books. So in this piece, my older self is on this bookshelf, looking at my younger self, and they’re connecting over this old hobby.”

Whether it be creating past memories or doing investigations, Wu said the key to creating art is exploring. 

“I know a lot of young artists will lock themselves in and only draw what they are comfortable with,” Wu said. “It’s hard to branch out and learn things like lighting, anatomy or perspective. Try and even if you suck at it, after lots of practice, you’ll do great.” 

Veronica Qiu

Sophomore Veronica Qiu, said her hobby of crochet a fun way to take a break from schoolwork. 

“It’s my way of procrastination,” Qiu said. “And it’s a break from homework that I can just pick up and do, and then put it away and go back to work.” 

Qiu said she often makes smaller pieces, but wants to branch out and make bigger pieces too. 

“I crochet, and usually I make small things like stuffies or plushies, but I’ve been trying to make bigger crosses as well, such as beanies and bags and want to work towards clothing,” Qiu said. 

Qiu said she also first got into crocheting during the pandemic.

“(I started) in the pandemic of course,” Qiu said. “I started knitting because my grandma had so many needles, and that’s where I discovered crocheting. And then it kind of just took off from there.” 

While the crochets may look easy to make, Qiu said that’s not necessarily the case.

“It takes a lot of time, even some of the small projects, and there’s a lot of details that go into the process,” Qiu said. “It’s an intricate process. I guess that seems a little bit intimidating at first, but I think once you learn more how to do it, it’s pretty straightforward.” 

Because she’s spent so long crocheting, Qiu said the activity has left a lasting impact.  

Qiu said, “It’s definitely a part of my identity because someone who’s poured a lot of my time into it, it’s become part of my life.”