CHS senior Gabby Hernandez has recently received statewide recognition in the arts, with her personal piece to be featured at the Morris Museum. Her work, entitled “Delicate Armor”, was selected for the 37th annual Fresh Perspectives exhibition, where the museum celebrates the creativity, artistry, and talent of local high school students. Gabby’s piece can be viewed from March 6 to May 10 as one of 50 pieces chosen from over 250 submissions across the state.
Gabby agreed to answer a series of questions about her accomplishment for Dialogue. Her responses during that interview are transcribed below.
Can you describe your piece?
My art piece is a stained glass window, for which I also utilized mosaic techniques to assemble the glass onto the windows. It’s a depiction of my hands, with all my rings on them, folded together. It also has blue and orange stars to add to the background. I think what really brings the piece together are the pieces of metal which I used to replicate my jewelry and the hot pink border that is painted on. I think the metal that represents my jewelry and an actual chain to represent my hand chain was a unique approach, and I have to thank Mrs. Barkin for the idea.
What difficulties did you encounter while making this piece?
Originally, I couldn’t think of an idea. At first, I had a clock with vines wrapping around it, trying to symbolize something a bit more drastic. But, as it was our last project of the year, Mrs. Barkin pushed me to go for something better and that I could really connect with. Thank goodness I was dressed up that day because I remember looking down at my hands and fiddling with the way I was positioning my hands. It was then when I landed on having them folded and I held them away and in front of me. That was when the idea sparked. I think another difficulty I encountered was the time crunch. We’re only allocated so much time until we do class critiques. As this was such a big and intricate piece, I needed to make sure I was working tirelessly on the piece. But, I think that working so hard on the piece made me love it even more because I knew the effort that I put into it.
How did you learn that you were selected?
When we entered my piece, it was more of an on a whim type of submission. The application process was super quick, and I didn’t really think anything of it after I applied. I truly believed that I wasn’t going to be picked and it was just a 1/100 chance. I had asked around a week beforehand the results came out if my current art teacher Mrs. Balzer had heard anything, but she said she hadn’t. Embarrassingly, I had actually forgotten about it, until I walked into class one day where Mrs. Balzer and Mrs. Barkin pulled me to the side and said that my piece was a finalist.
How did you react once being accepted?
In that moment, I don’t think I reacted big. I was just like “Oh wow! Okay, that’s really cool!” They kept telling me how big of an honor it was, but I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. It wasn’t until my family was celebrating about it, and that TV35 had asked to interview me that I realized how much of a big deal this submission really was.
What does this piece mean to you personally?
To me, at first, this piece was something I was super excited about to end the year on during crafts. I always liked doing big 3D pieces that involved adding smaller components like tile or glass. But now, after I had the opportunity to reflect back on my piece and take into consideration that it was a finalist piece, it started to mean more to me. I realized that I wasn’t trying to reflect who I was in this piece. When the idea came on a whim, I thought the piece had little meaning. But, my jewelry has always played a big part in my life and creating my persona. Additionally, stars were always a shape that meant a lot to me as I was constantly surrounded by them growing up and they remind me of my mom, who is also a big influence on my life. I think overall this piece is a reflection of who I am and who I want to continue to be.
What does this achievement mean for CHS and its arts program?
This achievement shows the legitimacy of the CHS’s art program and what the department is creating is extremely meaningful. We have so many talented artists, and they make some seriously amazing and inspiring pieces. We’ve had past winners for this honor, but I don’t think it was ever as publicized as mine. I think by shedding more light and adding more publicity on an achievement like this helps to highlight, again, the art department and what we have to offer to the school. So many of the murals and art around the school are results of brilliant artists coming together to make something beautiful, and I truly like the sense of community the art department at CHS is inspirational! In general for CHS, I think this achievement shows how hard our students work and that we know how to take on a challenge.
