Twenty-nine young artists explored inner feelings of identity in an art exhibition organized in October by the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County. “How I See Myself” was made possible in part by a grant from The Sophie Fund, which is honored to share the exhibition here. Thanks and bravo to the artists.
Skylar W., age 10, Dryden Elementary
Zoning Out
Pencil on paper
“Sometimes when I get angry or sad I like to listen to music and draw. I zone out a lot and I wanted to picture myself zoning out in space. Usually people tell me to straighten my hair, die it blonde or get rid of my freckles. This picture with my natural hair is an encouragement for kids who look like me or even if you don’t. I like the motto, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’ You can be it.”
Zairan C., age 16, Ithaca High School
Untitled
Charcoal
“I chose to work with charcoal because of how it falls apart as you use it. When you’re done with it, there’s only dust left. Something must be destroyed in order for another to be created. The feeling of destruction transfers over to my work with the use of strong, bold, and crazy lines. I hope this reflects the damage of bullying and how it takes away or molds part of yourself. This particular portrayal of myself is inspired by German expressionistic art.”
Dakota W., age 16, Ithaca High School
Family Portrait
Colored pencils, paper
“The artwork is about how people in an abusive household can look perfectly fine on the outside. The artwork is also about people with mental health issues that can be raised in an abused household, generational trauma, miscarriage, and depression.”
Louisa H., age 11, Dewitt Middle School
Pink Lion
Water colors and pencil
“The pink lion that I made in art class with water colors was done a year ago. I started the pink lion, then I put it down, and then started working on it again. Now I am very happy with how it turned out.”
Zoe K., age 13, DeWitt Middle School
Spaced Out
Newspaper, glue, paper, pencil , colored pencils, markers
“This piece shows the artist and the four key things that contribute to their mental health: anxiety, depression, bullying, and school. With clips of newspaper because a lot of anxiety and depression comes from things we can’t control and it’s in space because a lot of the time we space out and that is when we stress.”
Sky F., age 15, Ithaca High School
Mask
Digital Print
“This piece is meant to show the feeling of needing to appear calm and happy while feeling the opposite. On one side, the face is serene and smiling, with soft light coming from above, and on the other side she is screaming and lit from below. This shows how the way we feel and the way we appear are often very different.”
Ella H., age 16, Ithaca Senior High School
Mirror of Insecurities
Watercolor, pencils, and markers
“My portrait is a depiction of how a person might see themselves. On the right side, I used colored pencils to depict how I look in real life. On the left side, I used markers to depict my insecurities and how I think other people might perceive me. This portrait shows how you can never really know how someone feels about themselves on the outside, and that we should all be kind and understanding to each other.”
Luke S., age 15, Ithaca High School
Half the Story
Digital Print
“It’s only half the story. They don’t see everything, they don’t understand, they are blind to your strengths. They see only what they want to.”
Freyja, age 14, Ithaca High School
The Color Within
Colored pencil, watercolor, pen
“Part of my process for making this piece was drawing a current self-portrait (One of a photo I just took of myself) and then ripping it in half. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go after that, but I knew that I wanted to make something interesting with color. So with color creeping out of the second portrait in the middle I thought that it fit the theme perfectly. The colored portrait on the inside representing how bullying or mental health can cause your true self to hibernate or retract back into and not truly shine.”
Finn K., age 15, Ithaca High School
Small
Charcoal
“It’s a small portrait created with charcoal. I thought smudged charcoal would be a cool effect to show the facial expression.”
NEXT: Self Portraits of Youth (Part 3)
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