By: Brianna  Siegfried, Staff Writer

      Throughout the high school, there is art everywhere. Through this, there can be many different messages being conveyed. These messages serve as a means of expressing various thoughts and opinions. This way of self-expression and representation has shown to be an important matter to some students at the high school, including sophomore Audrey Bechtel. 

     Art and expression can take many forms, such as music, photography, drawing, ceramics and more. Bechtel has taken two photography classes at the high school, Photography 1 and Photography 2. 

     “I take some photos out of school, but nothing professional or anything,” Bechtel said. The skills she learned in these classes have carried over into her personal life. These skills can be carried throughout her whole life as an introduction to her interest in photography. 

     “I think representation is important in art,” Bechtel said, “A lot of my friends do art, and I think they can express themselves like that, and that’s pretty cool.” 

     The expression through art can be observed through the eyes of other people. The support of art by friends and family can lead to more open representation and expression through various art forms. 

     In a recent poll, Stow Munroe Falls High School students were asked whether they felt represented by art. 35 students participated in this poll. 45.7% of those students said they do feel represented by art at the high school, and 48.6% of students said they sometimes feel represented by art while  5.7% of students said they do not feel represented by art. 

     Art can also be seen in sophomore Madeleina Mincks’s everyday life. She has taken multiple art classes at the high school, such as visual art 1, painting, jewelry and metals and 3-D design. 

     “Some people can see their own experiences or emotions when they are creating art,” Mincks said, “especially when it’s something that they relate to an experience or their current way of looking at things in general. Putting whatever they’re feeling on a canvas or piece of paper.”

     Representation through art is perceived in many pieces. The representation in these pieces not only concerns the artist, but also all who are viewing. Seeing art that holds representation can resonate with a person. 

     “Being someone who associates art with their everyday life, watching pieces that you create evolve over time kind of gives you that sense of growth,” Mincks said, “and for some, maybe it’s finding peace in past experiences through creating something that feels like them.”