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- Senior Emma Rosenfield works on an art assignment.
Artist of the month is a new monthly feature that focuses on students who participate in the fine and performing arts department. Student artists are selected based on their recent accomplishments.
by Peter Diamond
Senior Emma Rosenfield declared that she has been an avid artist from a young age.
“One time, my elementary school art teacher Ms. Maxwell assigned us a drawing of a dinosaur,” Rosenfield explained. “I loved that assignment so much. In fact, the drawing is still hanging in my room.”
From that point on, art has been one of her passions, she said.
“As I transitioned from elementary school to middle school, I decided to take a class at the New Art Center,” she remarked. “We did a lot of painting, and I was fairly good at capturing the general shape of people and animals, but there was no shading, no sense of depth.
“I continued to take an art elective in middle school, and learned more about the elements of art: shading, line, texture and more.”
She pursued her interest in art in high school by taking art major I as a freshman, she said.
“The art major classes have guided me to my passions, allowed me to excel and challenged me to improve. With the instruction of fabulous teachers, I have been able to explore techniques and media that I would not have tried on my own.”
Art teacher Shannon Slattery identified Rosenfield as an exemplary art student.
“She just works really hard,” explained Slattery. “She’s very focused and determined to have her work come out the way she wants it to. If she’s not happy, she will work to make it the way she wants.”
Slattery, like Rosenfield, believes that this school’s art curriculum has a positive effect on students.
“Emma’s not a person who’s going on to art school, but it is probably something she’ll be doing for the rest of her life,” she said.
Competing with many other high school students, Rosenfield entered a painting called “Emma Lisa” in the Boston Globe Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, earning a Gold Key. Her piece will go on display at the State Transportation Building from Monday, Feb. 13 through Friday, April 20.
“Participating in the contest was a great experience,” Rosenfield said. “It was a little up in the air because art is so subjective, and you never know how someone will look at your work. It is exciting to find out the results and to admire the work that is recognized.”
Rosenfield’s said her interest in art dictated her college search, she stated.
“As I began looking at colleges, I leaned towards a liberal arts setting. This allows me to explore both of my passions: art and biology.”
Rosenfield said her interest in biology influences her art.
“My inspiration usually comes from wildlife,” she described. “If you flip through my sketchbook, about 90 percent of my sketches are of animals. When it comes to larger projects, I usually focus on an animal as well.”
Rosenfield’s advice for aspiring student artists is to “keep at it. Everyone has their own styles, and I know it sounds cheesy, but do not give up,” she said. “We may all run into people who criticize our work, but we have to be persistent. Art is just so much fun, and it allows you to use a whole other part of your brain.”
She summarized her love of art by saying, “I only know one person who can play soccer at age 60, but I know countless people who continued to make art at that same age and beyond.”
