Art is a significant tool that people use to express themselves, and we have many skilled artists here at Lincoln. This article will spotlight one artist, whose work immediately caught my eye: Cora Telzrow (10).
When I walked into Ms. Baker’s classroom to ask for artist recommendations, the first thing I noticed was a beautiful drawing that Telzrow was working on. Upon seeing this, I decided she had to be the subject of this article.
When asked what she wanted to spotlight in this article, she chose the very piece that I had seen her working on. It was a project in her art class, AP Drawing and Painting, a self-portrait of her doing her makeup. “It’s a part of my sustained investigation, but I really like how its turning out.” she explained.
In AP art classes, a sustain investigation is an project that lets students explore a common theme that is important to them through their artwork. For Telzrow, that theme was the contrast between when you were little to going into teenage years, exploring the things that changed in that time.
Curious about the deeper meaning of the drawing, I asked her what the drawing represented. “I’m gonna draw little younger me next to it,” she said, “and that’ll make it make more sense, but it represents growing.”
Telzrow explained that she began with a quick 4×5 notecard sketch to get a feel of the overall idea. “Then, I made a mind map to track what I specifically wanted in the piece,” she added. Her goal was to show both her younger and current self side by side, showing who she was versus who she is now.
She then chose the materials she would use to bring the drawing to life. She decided to use a graphite pencil for most of the drawing, but added pops of color to contrast the mainly monotone drawing. “I added depth to the portraits face to give it a more realistic look,” she explained, “but I dramatized some aspects of it, like the eyelashes, to give it a more uncanny and unrealistic look.”
The mix of realism and surrealism gives her drawing a unique tone that shows her journey of self-exploration and growth. Her planning and creative choices in material and focal points came together to make something both eye-catching and meaningful.
Telzrow’s work represents a journey of growing up, a theme all high-school students can relate too, which makes it even more powerful.