Jasmine
Harrick
Shorecrest High School｜Shoreline, WA
TEACHER: Laura King
Drawing
I dreamed of a place where stars are harvested.
The Star Harvesters | 24 x 18 in.
Idea(s): I dreamed of a place where stars are harvested. Windows through the sky. Jelly stars.
Materials(s): paper/watercolor/razor. Materials inspired by fairytale illustrations.
Process(es): High arches to create feelings of spaciousness. Limited warm color to draw attention to the figures.
Student statement
Student
statement
Jasmine Harrick
My portfolio focused on dreams and the influence of spirituality in my life.
I started by depicting my dreams and the dreams of others. This piece is based on one of my own dreams featuring star harvesters in the night sky. My teacher, Ms. King, suggested that we look at different art styles to inform the piece we were working on, so I decided I wanted to draw inspiration from gothic architecture and fairytale illustrations. As I looked at different images from fairytales, I found my favorites were all by an artist named Kay Nielsen. I attempted to emulate his use of stylized shape, long lines, patterns, and isolated colors.
This led me to change the feeling of the scene (my dream was very closed-in and dark, almost claustrophobic, whereas the painting is light and elongated), although the squishy stars maintained their look. I chose to paint the star harvesters in warmer tones so they would stand out against the cool tones present in the rest of the piece. At one point, I decided I really liked the figures but didn’t like the background, so I cut out the figures, painted a new background, and pasted the figures on it. Since my drawing style in this piece is so flat, the physical layering adds a dimension I feel improves my piece.
Teacher
statement
Laura King
She began with a focus on personal fears. When she found that it was undermining the joy and respite that creating art brought her, she switched to a more positive idea.
From the beginning, Jasmine Harrick committed to being true to her artistic intention within her Sustained Investigation. She began with a focus on personal fears. When she found that it was undermining the joy and respite that creating art brought her, she switched to a more positive idea. Her new topic was dreams, which morphed into imagination, magic, and her personal connections to them. Jasmine’s process of creating each artwork laid the groundwork for the questions and ideas she wanted to explore, which set up the basis of her next piece.
I was impressed with Jasmine’s fearless and creative approach to problem-solving. She often hit roadblocks, but after exploring other artists’ work, getting feedback, and then experimenting on her own, she would find a solution.
This often meant working countless hours on one piece, then partially or entirely scrapping it, only to recreate a stronger piece that better met Jasmine’s vision.
Our AP art class is designed to build a community of artists. While students independently determine their artistic focus, there are some structures in place to encourage students to have a broad and deep engagement in their artistic processes. This includes exploration of artistic inspirations and other artists, research, self-reflection, phased development of their artworks, and critiques. Working with students in this new AP art format has been exciting. You see them transform from art students into young artists.
Jasmine Harrick
