More Than A Canvas - My Art Teacher Elizabeth Lovin by Kennedy

More Than A Canvas - My Art Teacher Elizabeth Lovin by Kennedy - March 2023 Scholarship Essay

Being an artist is more than just painting or creating a prized sculpture. It's a statement you make about yourself and what you care about. For the past two years of social isolation due to COVID, I've been searching for what I want my art to speak into existence. Oddly, I began my artistic calling through the simple kindness of my art teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth Lovin.

After my sophomore year of digital learning, I transferred to the newly built School of the Arts at Central Gwinnett High School to further foster my skills in Art and Design. It was terrifying changing schools in the middle of high school and leaving my friends, and I was hesitant if it was the right move for me to take to grow as an artist. I wasn't wrong! If it wasn't for the engaged care of my art mentor Mrs. Lovin, I wouldn’t have been able to survive the rigorous class curriculum or properly engage with my other peers on what I wanted out of my art. In showing me the ways in which art can combine with my equally-important passion - Social Justice Activism - Mrs. Lovin demonstrated to me the interconnective impact the creative field has on the rest of the world. I would not have realized how expansive visual arts can be in terms of leadership and impact without her guidance. Thanks to her, I was more conscientious about my goals. Therefore, I chose to enroll in a plethora of intensive classes (printmaking, graphics, drawing/painting, sculpture) to further formulate what's my strongest use of a medium and access to combine researched processes with concentrated portfolios in my senior year of high school.

Aside from teaching me the basics in art and global engagement, Mrs. Lovin helped me to become more confident in myself. COVID-19 took a fatal blow to my self-confidence and that was reflected in my art. However, Mrs. Lovin encouraged me to be introspective in my thought processes when it comes to art, and to always engage in reflective methods when showcasing my heart in my artwork.

This care for not only my art but personal life gave me the courage to create two portfolios before my college career. Last year I did a concentrated portfolio on the inner perspectives of Christians struggling with mental health through the outer uses of symbolism and spiritual metaphors. I wanted to challenge the mind versus faith stigma that sometimes goes unacknowledged in black faith communities. In my research, I gathered family responses, witnessed experiences, and personal journal entries to conduct a deeper discernment of what damaged mental health looks like through the Christian POV. In doing so, my work was able to condense from a broader spectrum to a more centralized focus on gender, race, and age.

Currently, I am in the second stage of investigating how one’s environment - both culturally and religiously - shapes views on sexuality. For two months I have been holding interviews with people from different cultures, belief systems, sexuality, ethnicities, and gender to create a diverse and unbiased portfolio presentation. Additionally, I have been quantitatively organizing the responses and/or similarities between my findings. Currently, I'm in the process of creating a series of 12-15 pieces honoring the stories that have been shared with me on people’s personal experiences with faith and sexuality. Alongside that, I have been dissecting a variety of papers and plugging myself into communities of people who I can learn from on this complex topic.

The statement I want to make with my art is more than just simply aesthetic or color composition. Having a teacher like Mrs. Lovin who celebrated my different perspectives and mindsets helped me to uncover parts of my identity I didn't know existed. My circle of community has grown and given others the space to freely explore all parts of their identity. intuition is a funny thing. Scary and relentless at the same time. Listening and following the advice of my art teacher inner voice is what led me to my new journey in the arts - and more importantly - finding my own inner voice.