Artist of the Week: Ava Carter
Ava Carter, a sixth grader at Warwick Valley Middle School started her art journey after being inspired by her mom’s artistic talent.
“I started when I was about two years old,” Ava said. “My mom is really talented when it comes to drawing. She used to draw me and I really liked that. Now, I want to be the best!”
Ava shared that she loves the freedom art provides to visually represent her feelings and ideas.
“It’s a way to express myself, and I draw because it’s fun,” she explained, flipping through her sketchbook. “I don’t even know what the things are that I draw. A lot of it is something I only draw half of, then when I look at it, I’m like ‘what did I draw?’ That’s literally half my sketchbook.”
She explained that a lot of her work is random and she often starts with one idea and lets her creativity flow from there, even if it turns out different from what she imagined.
One of her own personal favorite pieces incorporated a lot of texture.
“I used a wet, thick brush and swept it around and added more layers,” she explained. “If you really pay attention, you realize that these are all hearts and there’s an infinity sign. I only had three bottles of paint for this, which were literally just black, white, blue and red. I used whatever colors I had left.”
Ava’s passion for art is clear in her continual efforts to improve, and it shows in her work.
“Ava is able to have a vision and see it through until the end,” said art teacher Leah Mednick. “I am impressed with Ava’s ability to take on challenges with excitement and confidence.”
Currently in Ms. Mednick’s class, Ava is working on a citrus fruit project that featuring limes, grapefruits and oranges. Her chosen medium was marker.
“Paint is a lot easier, but I wanted to challenge myself,” Ava said. “It got harder because I started to run out of every color in the bag; that’s why everything is all multi-colored. After the ink started flowing back into the tip of the marker, you can see how I was able to fill everything in.”
Outside of the visual arts, Ava also loves music. She is currently in orchestra, honors orchestra and chamber orchestra, where she has been playing violin for three years. Ava’s hard work in both classes shows in her artwork and playing, and as she continues to grow and improve.
“Ava’s positive attitude helps her to remain confident in the face of obstacles,” said Ms. Mednick. “If she makes a mistake, she quickly pivots to fixing it and making her artwork even better. And, she’s always the first to help a friend solve an art problem.”
