Grace Walton, Q Williams, and Saaya Ho at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacrament, Calif.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Three North Tahoe High School students brought high-elevation art to the capital for a month-long feature in a Sacramento art museum.
“Our town is typically overlooked in terms of art,” said senior Q Williams, whose art was on display. “Most people assume Tahoe is all about sports, and this opportunity for my classmates and I allows us to show the creative side of our community.”
Williams’ 3-dimensional multimedia mask, along with junior Saaya Ho’s acrylic painting and junior Grace Walton’s oil pastel mixed with acrylic paint, was displayed at the Crocker Art Museum in March for the month-long YAM (Youth Art Month) Show.
Q Williams next to their 3-D art.
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Saaya Ho next to her acrylic painting.
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Grace Walton next to her oil pastel mixed with acrylic paint.
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“Hopefully, all the people that see the art, see the art of the future,” NTHS art, ceramics, and photography instructor Jo Anna Battaglia said.
Beyond being featured, Williams’ mask won first place in the 3-D art category, and Ho’s won best in show.
Over the month on display, the students’ artwork has appealed to many museum-goers’ eyes.
“I hope it connects with them by inspiring them to create something they thought they might not have been able to,” Williams said, who will be attending Seattle University in the fall for marine biology and conservation.
The honor has motivated Williams to continue pursuing the art, especially as a way to balance the stressors of college. They hope to one day combine their two passions—art and STEM—as a scientific illustrator.
The 3-D deer skull mask Williams created, called Life After Death, comes from a tradition of making Halloween costumes and is the final piece in a series of masks (including an owl and raven) molded from their face.
Williams created the museum-quality piece by combining all their artistic skills, including papier-mâché, painting, sculpting, fabric patterning, stitching, and problem-solving.
“This work, with meticulous attention to detail on the skull, is a love letter to all of the art and costumes I’ve created since I first learned what art was,” they said, “acting as a send-off for my final year of high school.”
Battaglia hopes this isn’t the last time NTHS students’ artwork will hang in the Crocker Art Museum.
“My goal is to be able to have students excited to be part of this show and understand what an honor it is to have their art hung in the Crocker Art Museum,” she said.