Art was something Cooper J. enjoyed at Meadowridge from her early days in Kindergarten all the way through to High School. In Grade 11, she realized her love for art became a challenge as she struggled with grasping some of the technical art skills she needed to create something she was proud of. She experimented with various mediums, from 2D acrylic paintings to oil pastels and watercolours, but it was difficult to find the one that truly resonated with her. She often found herself unsatisfied with her art, feeling that it didn't fully capture the depth of her emotions.
Cooper stumbled upon clay in art class one day and quickly became captivated by the endless possibilities the malleable texture the medium offered. She felt an instant connection with the clay and the process of sculpting became therapeutic.
“I took inspiration from my own life experiences. This past year, sculpting has been a great outlet for me to free my mind of everything that I had going on. Subconsciously I think a lot of the ideas I came up with connected to how I was feeling at the time,” explains Cooper.
In addition to being artistic masterpieces, Cooper’s sculptures demonstrate her resilience, self-discovery, and open-mindedness.
Expression Through Hands
Cooper’s expressive work was recently on display during the Grade 12 Art Exhibition.
“The theme of my exhibition is ‘expression through hands.’ I am passionate about expressing meaning through my artwork, and I have always been interested in the way we as people express ourselves. Our actions and expressions can say a thousand words without saying anything at all, and I wanted to focus in on that idea in my work,” she said.
Her exhibition pieces tied in the concept of “hands” in powerful ways, which we see displayed in all her work, like Heart in Your Hands.
“This piece represents the power and control someone can have over another’s emotions. Surrounding the theme of how expression is portrayed through hands, the scaling of the hands compared to the heart symbolises a strong power imbalance. I used a black metallic glaze to dehumanize the hand, making it ambiguous while representing a lack of thought for the heart in which it is controlling. In addition, the nearly visible string comments on the fragility of one not being in control of their own heart.”
As Cooper transitions to post-secondary studies in the next year, she plans on continuing to use art as a creative outlet in her life.
Can you tell me about your journey as an artist? When did you get into art? How did you find your preferred medium(s)? Were there any challenges along the way and throughout your journey as a student artist?
Throughout my time at Meadowridge I have always taken art, however outside of the classroom I had no other art experience. In MYP, my efforts to do well got me by, but when I started diploma art in grade 11, I quickly learned that I did not have the skills that I needed to succeed. I experimented with 2D art including acrylic, oil pastel and watercolour but it wasn’t till I began working with clay that I found something I was passionate about. Finding the motivation to keep trying new mediums in grade 11 after having no success was very difficult, but in hindsight I am very glad I pushed myself to find something I was good at and enjoyed doing.
What is the theme of your exhibit? What themes do you often pursue or explore?
The theme of my exhibition was expression through hands. Originally, I wanted to explore expression through the human body in general, however I narrowed it down to create a more cohesive exhibition.
The theme of my exhibition is expression through hands. I am passionate about expressing meaning through my artwork, and I have always been interested in the way we as people express ourselves. Our actions and expressions can say a thousand words without saying any at all, and I wanted to focus in on that idea in my work.
Where do you draw your inspiration for your artwork? What motivates you to create?
The theme of my exhibition was expression through hands. Originally, I wanted to explore expression through the human body in general, however I narrowed it down to create a more cohesive exhibition. I chose to explore this theme as
The theme of my exhibition is expression through hands. I am passionate about expressing meaning through my artwork, and I have always been interested in the way we as people express ourselves. Our actions and expressions can say a thousand words without saying any at all, and I wanted to focus in on that idea in my work.
What lessons do you want people to take away from your work?
In terms of my journey as an artist, I learned many lessons. Firstly, I learned you do not have to be “good” at art to make something worth looking at. I would not consider myself a very skilled artist in any sense, but I worked really hard to improve my skills by finding a medium that I enjoyed. To this day my drawings, paintings, and some of my sculptures look like child’s work; but that’s okay. Through perseverance and a lot of trial and error, I managed to bring my ideas to life, some worked, and some didn’t. The biggest lesson I want to share is that most of the time you just have to keep trying and keep an open mind, and whatever you’re doing will come together.
In terms of my work, I want people to see how much can be said by a simple hand expression or gesture. Moreover, I want people to recognize how this concept applies to everyday life. So much can be expressed through someone’s hand expression or position. We say more with our body language and expressions than we do speaking, and often it is a more reliable measure of someone’s thoughts.
What role do you think student artists (and artists in general) play at the school and in society?
Artists have an incredible talent of being able to see and represent the world in so many different and creative perspectives. Artists are some of your most crucial activists in society as they can imaginatively create art that can spark change, make a strong statement, or inspire society. In our school, our student artists have the opportunity to practice doing what they love every day during our DP Visual Arts, Music, or Theatre classes. By having strong and valued arts programs we can encourage students to maintain their passion for the arts, which is so important for students to stay creative and imaginative. Our student artists are a reminder that school is not only about academics, and we all need to embrace our creative sides.
How do you know when your art piece is “finished”?
Knowing when my piece is “finished” is something that I always struggled with at the beginning. Trying to find the balance of not doing too much but adding enough finishing details that my pieces look clean and completely took me a while to find. Ultimately, in the end it just came down to a feeling that what I had was complete. I can’t say there was any rhyme or reason to it, you just know when you're content with your work, and for me the timing of that heavily varied from piece to piece.
Will you be pursuing art at university? If not, will you continue to express yourself through the arts? If you are pursuing a different study path at university, what is it and where will you be studying/will art still be a part of your life?
Next year, I will be studying Business Management at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. If you asked me this question a year ago my answer would have been very different, but after having art as an outlet this past year I do plan on keeping up with my art when I go away. Although I will not be studying art, or pursuing an artistic career in the future, I want to make sure that I keep that creative outlet in my life – whatever that may be.
