Ravenscroft fine arts students continue to receive accolades from local arts organizations. Most recently, three visual arts students have had their work recognized in art shows.

Five students — Brandon Sisson ’22, Jae Ramsey ’23, Bea Holdstock ’22, Sky Bell ’22 and Brianna Donigan ’23 — had work exhibited in the Fine Arts League of Cary’s Teen Show. Brandon won first place for the Fine Arts League of Cary Award for his oil painting “Overwhelmed.” Jae’s photograph “Blinded No More” earned her both the Meredith College Scholarship Award and the Photography Award.

For Brandon, the painting provided an opportunity to explore themes from his final year at Ravenscroft.

“My self-portrait is inspired by the stress of my senior year between applying for colleges and the uncertainty of picking one to attend, keeping up with classwork and participating in all the senior-year activities while trying to absorb everything of what is known as the best year of school,” Brandon said. “This piece is large, three-by-four feet, and the size of it really aims to emphasize all these things that are occurring simultaneously. It is an honor to receive an award for this piece—a piece that truly represents an emotion that every high school graduate has most likely felt at some point.”

Jae explained how she achieved the look of the photo. “For this photography piece, I used the method of double exposure. The eye of the tree inspired me to find a way to incorporate nature’s beauty with the beauty of human facial features. By creating this piece through the process of double exposure and layering the tree behind the close-up portrait of my family members, I was able to show the natural connection between the earth and its people,” she said.

In addition, Brandon, Jae and Bea had artwork featured in Artsplosure, which took place this past weekend in downtown Raleigh. Bea’s acrylic painting won first place in the High School category.

“I have never created a self-portrait, so it was extremely fun seeing exaggerated features of myself on paper as a child,” she said. “I created an extremely vibrant color palette to illustrate a childlike perspective in my art. I used acrylic and really loved the final product. I am so happy I got to see my art put up with that of other fantastic artists!”

Their visual art teacher, Erin Stelling, said, “I’m so proud to see these students pursue their passions, take risks and embrace opportunities to put their artwork out in the world.”

Congratulations to everyone whose work was featured.