Students explore art themes in Re/LAUNCH/ing, vol. 8

Each month, StAlbertTODAY.ca will be displaying an online gallery of art created by high school students. These are April's submissions.

"Untitled" by Siara Peters; oils. Scroll down for more art by local students and to read their thoughts on their artwork.

With school back in session, a new collaborative art project has been launched.

Re/LAUNCH/ing is aimed at hitting the same high notes that its predecessor with.draw.all did, but with the added emphasis on the intrinsic value of art to the artist.

Each month, StAlbertTODAY.ca will be displaying an online gallery of art created by high school students. March's rendition features 11 creations from students at Paul Kane, Bellerose and St. Albert Catholic High.

Artist: Ava Melnychuk
Title: Untitled
Graphite
Artist's Statement: "Looking at shading in the face."

Artist: Ben Friese
Grade: 11
Title: "Heart"
Mixed media
Artist's Statement: "This art piece was in response to a sketchbook challenge that we did around the idea of the "heart" as a symbol for Valentine's Day."

Artist: Bobby Pascua
Grade: 12
Title: "Macho Betilla"
Acrylic
Artist's Statement: "The piece I had made is an acrylic painting of a model of a 2007 Dodge Charger, a remarkable car, dedicated to one of my remarkable friends, as a show of gratitude for all the rides he has given, out of his own personal kindness."

Artist: Dakota Wedman
Grade: 12
Title: "The Tools"
Acrylic
Artist's Statement: "With this piece, I wanted to focus on using few colours to create a range of shades. I also wanted to focus on contrasts between light and dark and create a gestural, realistic painting."

Artist: Ella Olsen
Title: "Burnt Out Barbie"
Sculpture
Artist's Statement: "Another self-portrait of sorts. I won't bore you with the details. It broke on the way home from school – bummer. I'm unhappy with how it turned out but conceptually I love it."

Artist: Grace Forbes
Grade: 12
Title: "Protection"
Ceramics
Artist's Statement: "This piece is inspired by my strength and the strength of others. Each piece represents multiple layers of my support system."

Artist: Nolan Brettell
Grade: 11
Title: "Stretch-Ed O'Neill"
Pastel on black gesso
Artist's Statement: "I got the opportunity to create a stretched portrait of a famous person using pastels. In the end, I chose famous actor Ed O'Neill as my subject in this piece."

Artist: Sunny Su
Grade: 10
Title: "Chairs"
Paper cutting / mixed media
Artist's Statement: "I really liked the look of the chairs in my piece. I used purple and blue to highlight their shape on the letters in the background. I also chose to add green-blue to the background to create a cool colour harmony in the piece. I like Art because I enjoy the process of trying to create beautiful things."

Artist: Sylvia Wen
Grade: 10
Title: "Eye"
Graphite
Artist's Statement: "This drawing was done in response to a challenge to draw a hyper-realistic eye from a very close up viewpoint."

Artist: Teresa Borle
Grade: 11
Title: "Symmetry"
Acrylic
Artist's Statement: "The calm colours and symmetrical composition of this piece represent the inner peace I have found through my art."