Val
Does she look familiar to you? She should because you have seen her in multiple shoots I have styled and photographed. Val is my go to girl when I get an artistic idea and have to photograph it NOW. I’m an artist first and foremost. When the muse strikes I have to act. I’m am obsessed with creating the vision.
Val is a chameleon. Give her a role and she will embody it. I love working with her for her energy, since of humor, beauty and willingness to be game for any idea I come up with. Val is the living embodiment of ART.
Val is a chameleon. Give her a role and she will embody it. I love working with her for her energy, since of humor, beauty and willingness to be game for any idea I come up with. Val is the living embodiment of ART.
Although I am an educator during the day, I often find myself being the one who is taught by the students. I learn so much from these amazing young adults I get the honor of teaching. What I love the most about teaching in the arts, is when I can help a student find their own voice. This may be a voice which they did not themselves even know they had; A voice which may have been silent for years and finally has a chance to emerge.
What joys my heart most is when a student takes my class and finds they have a huge talent which has never been tapped into. I love watching a student come alive as they realize their artistic voice. Many times this is a student who is going through the motions of high school life, with no real passion, no real direction, no real VOICE. For many of those students ART is the voice that they have hidden within themselves. Art is the voice they will use to make their way in the world.
Three years ago, Val was this student that walked into my beginning art class and sat in the BACK of the classroom. Val was a very beautiful girl, quiet, well mannered and had a quick wit. I instantly loved her sarcasm. Although only a junior, she was a girl that was already beyond the games of high school. The question remained, “what she would do after high school?”
She had no idea.
She had no idea.
What quickly became obvious was that Val had a very strong artistic talent. Project after project, I was amazed at her ability. This was more than someone that was just getting A’s on all her projects. This was a person that had the talent to really do something in art and take it to the next level. As I would sit by Val to help her with certain techniques she began to share more about herself.
During freshman year Val had been a cheerleader for the high school. She said she did it because she thought it was, “the thing to do”, but she hated it. She told me, “during the cheers I use to be saying in my head to the rhythm of the cheer, I hate my life, I hate my life.” She did some little high hand motions to show me the cheer movement. It was at this moment I saw a bit of myself in this girl, but more on that later.
I saw something in Val that maybe she didn’t see herself. The goal now was to get it out of her and let her voice begin to shoutout to the world through her art, “I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY”. I asked her to join my AP studio art class for her senior year. Yes, she would be skipping the advanced art class, but I knew with her raw talent she was up for the task. It was a certain art teacher back in 1991 that did the same for me……..we will visit her later in this story.
Hesitant at first, Val treated slowly and careful on her assignments as she started her AP Art year. When Val picked her 12 project theme for the year and started to immerse herself into her work, a new girl started to emerge. Taking the lyrics from the band Third Eye Blind, Val began to visual illustrate her interpretation of the lyrics. Val began to exert her own voice through her art work. Art work which was original, bold, and at times edgy. Val incorporated real sand into one of her paintings. Not everyone would think outside the box like that.
The magic for Val came to full fruition when she created an incredibly moving piece for the Chapman University Holocaust Art contest. Val listened to testimony of a holocaust survivor and then created a piece of art which illustrated the survivor’s story. Val threw herself heart and soul into this project. When she was near completion, there was a paint spill on her project. I could literally see the tears swell up in her eyes. Quickly I pulled one of my teacher tricks from my hat. I told her that sometimes a mistake can make for a “happy” mistake when it concerns art. I told her we were going to embrace the paint spill and spill more paint on it to make it look apart of the movement and feel of the art piece. Mistakes can make greatness.
Over 40 schools entered the Chapman Holocaust Contest. Out of all those students, Val came in second place! Now Val’s voice was being heard on a large scale and others were standing up and taking notice. This girl had something to say and the talent to back it up. (a little shout out here to Angel who was also one of my students and placed 1st in this contest!)
Watching my students walk on stage and win such amazing awards brought memories flooding back to me of my own journey into art and the salvation that it brought me. In the audience was my former art teacher, who had also had a finalist in this competition. We had stayed in touch over the years and had a friendly rivalry going on between us when it came to our students competing and winning contests. 
Flash back 20 years.
I was lost in high school. I went through the motions with no passion or purpose. My passion had been ice skating. From the age of 6, I had trained to make figure skating into a life-long career. Skating was my center, my focus, my identity but all that was lost when at 14 I had to retire because of an illness.
I was lost in high school. I went through the motions with no passion or purpose. My passion had been ice skating. From the age of 6, I had trained to make figure skating into a life-long career. Skating was my center, my focus, my identity but all that was lost when at 14 I had to retire because of an illness.
One teacher took a chance on me. One teacher helped me find my voice. Barbara Gard was that teacher. Art became my outlet. Art helped me find my own voice. Art became my passion. A teacher believed in me once and I was determined to pay it forward to my students.
Val shared with me that she now felt she had a purpose and direction for her life.
ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As I write this Val is packing up her room and getting ready to start the next stage in her life. She is off to an art school in San Francisco! Val is going to live her passion.
This next set of photos is what I had called Val’s Holocaust Art Project………A happy accident. My son Kaleb had come with me on this shoot because he loves skateboarding. As it was getting dark, I told him to sit right behind me in the car as I finished up the last few shots.
Next thing I know, the headlights start flashing on and off. I look into the car and see that Kaleb is sitting in the driver’s seat laughing his head off as he flashes us with the lights.
I quickly looked at the last few photos I had taken when Kaleb was flashing the lights and realize that he had helped create magic. The last photos shown here (except the black and white) are straight out of the camera…. no retouching at all…………. just the magic that happened with Val, my lens and a little boy playing around.
And here is the little man that was behind the amazing lighting.
(Stolen from Val’s Facebook wall)
Val was finally able to meet her favorite band Third Eye Blind and present them with a piece of her art which was based on their lyrics. Dreams do come true! Follow your passion and voice!
All my kids at Chapman University after the contest. Every once in a while as a teacher you have a group of students that will stay with you forever.
Val, I am so beyond proud of you. You are making your dreams come true and showing the world your voice. You are why I teach.