Samuel Friedmann • Grade 10 • Night Lights
Despite the frigid winds that turn my hands numb I am engulfed by the beauty of the city and its effect on me on a late January night.
Riding atop a bus, blasting music through Times Square, my spirit feels free. This city’s ability to inspire people never ceases to fail. Maybe they are just buildings and maybe it is just light.
No…there’s more to it than that. There is a willingness to believe when in the presence of a system bigger than yourself.
The lights are whimsical, and the night is free. The night lights have set me free.
Rebecca Kohanim • Grade 10 • Life of a Tree
A tree near my grandmother's house, which had the tree branch cut off, intrigued me.
It is said that by counting the number of rings a tree has, you can tell its age or how long it’s been growing. This tree had many rings and with many cracks. This could be said to represent that over time this tree faced difficulties much like everyone in life.
Life gets hard and you will face many challenges the older you get, however, it’s nothing you can’t overcome, because like the wood of this tree, you are stronger than whatever you must face.
Joy Huang • Grade 11 • Blossoms Amidst Adversity
As winter sweeps away in favor of spring, purple blossoms erupt from the previously frozen, wasted land.
Through this image, I wanted to let the viewers understand that despite hardships and difficulties, just like the purple flowers, everything will work out in the end, in hopes of offering a light at the end of the tunnel for many.
Ava Muntner • Grade 11 • Marching Towards Peace
I took this photo during a Mardi Gras parade. The Lafayette Academy Middle School was captivating.
One instrumentalist paused from playing his trumpet and held up a peace sign. As I looked through the viewfinder, smiles emitted from the crowd.
Imagine if the future marched towards peace. The world has undergone so much negativity that I yearn for this aspect of the world to vanish.
I want society to form a strong sense of unity. People are able to help those in need and good deeds will be reciprocated.
The world shall embrace the human race and its everlasting beauty.
Abigail Nassimi • Grade 11 • Blossoming
The unintentional photo,
Taken while quickly passing by.
A beautiful moment caught
That could have been missed in the blink of an eye.
Witnessing two people in love,
Witnessed by two people that they love.
Nothing else matters,
Except for the people in love and the flowers behind.
When they’re together, the rest of the world seems black and white,
But the world could also not be more aligned.
The flowers are bloomed,
Even in the winter.
The cold and the hate stopped no one,
And it never stopped when she kissed her.
Jacob Huang • Op Art Swirl
Imagine if you were on a carnival ride.
You’re in a tunnel with a swirl of squares, slowly going to the center.
As it goes longer you get dizzier and dizzier until you snap out of it and you see the ride is over.
Matthew Jiang • Op Art Ball
Imagine if you lost your ball and it camouflaged into its background.
Gabriella Sanjourjo • Planet Robo
Imagine if there was a Robo Planet made of forms.
Alice Tan • Op Art Tornado
Imagine if your home was like a wonderland. It was very colorful.
Then about nine tornadoes come to you.
The tornado was so colorful because it sucked up all of us - the color from wonderland.
Oh no! We have to stop it!
Maggie Xu • Glass Portrait
Imagine if your face was like glass and it broke into millions of pieces
Nicholas Ferro • Grade 11 • Nighthawks
Imagine if life was a movie. If life was a movie, anything would be possible.
People would be flying through the sky, animals would be able to talk, and anything would be possible.
In my photo, I tried to capture interaction between people and a movie theatre, because inside a theatre the imagination runs wild.
All different kinds of movies are produced and each one is the idea of someone else.
Photographs are like a movie In that sense. Each photograph is the imagination and idea of someone put into a photo. Some are abstract and have a story behind them, and some are just basic photos with no story.
Michelle Levy • Grade 11 • My Best Friend
Imagine if everyone owned a dog.
I created my works of art to express the beauty and love shown by dogs. I wanted to capture the emotions and expressions in order to create a deeper connection.
Huskies are a very intelligent breed of dog, and they are very kind to their humans.
There is a strong bond between man and animal. My dog is my best friend, and our connection remains untouched and very strong.
I love my dog more than anything, and that's why I felt so strong when I created these art works.
Nathaniel Levy • Grade 11 • The Future Is Here
Imagine there was a world where humans don’t negatively impact the environment.
In my photographs, I try to capture the beauty of nature with a lens ball that turn the world upside down.
I love how this photo shows the trees upside down, and the contrasting colors.
I have been taking photos of nature for years and wanted to explore not only its beauty but the effects that humans have on nature.
Yoni Ovid • Grade 11 • Dreams
Imagine a world where people didn’t feel the need to do drugs
Scratching their necks feeling like bugs crawling up their spines
But what if there was a way to keep everything in line?
I made this portrait from inspiration from this rap song that quotes “Last time, it was the drugs he was lacing. All legends fall in the making. Sorry truth, dying young, demon youth”
I used this quote as inspiration because too many are passing away young to drug use and I proposed the statement of Imagine a world where people didn’t feel the need to do drugs.
Carrie Zheng • Grade 12 • Polar Comfort
Imagine if everyone had their own crochet amigurumi, a Japanese crochet technique used to crochet stuffed animals, to invoke feelings of comfort and memories of the past.
I wanted to create crochet stuffed animals that invoked feelings of nostalgia and that would bring comfort to people during hard times.
I made the head bigger than the body to give the animal a cuter look that would remind people of their own childhood stuffed animals.
Katellyn Attison • Galactic Sneaker Render
This is a sneaker design marker layout advertisement for the brand, Converse.
I used assorted colored markers and gel pens to pull a very vibrant, “out of this world”, creative design together.
I am very proud of the way it came out.
Jalen Perkins • Till Pizza Toppings Do Us Part!
Imagine if random people were selected to run the government, and not a single person had a clue of what to do.
I decided to create that scenario digitally. I designed an action-comedy poster that portrays two sides divided over a conflict, and they used to be the best of friends.
The background represents how something as simple as deciding pizza toppings could cause chaos in the world.
Jenye Harris • Imagine Phone Filter Portraits
Imagine if we all looked like the filters on our phones today?
I explored if a chosen portrait would look better if only a filter was used.
I discovered that I could make a “better looking” filter. I selected a photographic portrait with hair and values I loved. I also wanted to challenge myself by using different shadows. I chose to do the side with highlights. After the way it was coming out, I switched to the other side.
I think this digital drawing looks like a phone filter, but much better!
I am proud how it turned out.
Katellyn Attison • Subway Graffiti
Imagine if graffiti was celebrated and used for decorative purposes in our everyday lives.
This art piece is a subway scene utilizing both graphic design and illustration processes. Each advertisement on the subway wall was digitally designed individually, and every part of all the graffiti was hand-drawn in Procreate.
The subway scene is a photo collage of images as well.
I think I made it look like a realistic, fun, and creative subway scene that draws the viewer, to imagine graffiti as a good thing.
Ryan Gelfand • If I Could Draw Everything!
Imagine if we could draw everything we see from observation. Well, I can try!
I wanted to show value and depth. It took multiple attempts to get the right proportions. I find drawing from observation to be difficult, but I overcame it.
The items I used were a Michelangelo statue, tiki statue and a tea cup. I was determined to make what I imagined come true and I think I created one of my best drawings.
It shows everyone that I can truly draw from life or direct observation. It was a big step up in my drawing skills.
Angelina Broecker • Grade 11 • Acceptance
Imagine if we let go of the past, acceptance is the key for growing, in life, mind, and body.
A crow, symbol of rebirth, represents a new chapter in life, new people, new places, and new events.
It is placed on the lips because we need new chapters to grow in what we say and how we act and view things.
The person is accepting new energy because it can hurt more to hold onto the past than to let go and let ourselves grow, to find out who we really are and what we need in this life.
Emily Oliveira • Grade 12 • The Staircase of Work
The image was made to reflect an endless mundane or meaningless cycle of work and how people can become trapped within the ideologies of society.
Today’s society requires more work to survive and therefore ensnares anyone in it.
Constant routine without anything new can ‘spiral’ individuals into feeling nothing but the schedule and they can be swept away into what I call: “The Staircase of Work”.
Can we envision a path that breaks the cycle?
This art piece was created using Photoshop elements, combining it with a traditional sculpture out of paper.
Emma McGrath • Grade 12 • What Lies Beyond and Below
I wanted to provoke thoughts of the big “what if” and share my affinity for the new and unknown.
I have always been a lover of travel and what lies beyond an ocean is truly enchanting.
However, that question is something I know the answer to. New places, unique languages, and beautiful people are what you will find beyond.
What lies below in contrast is something of a mystery, a whimsical muse for daydreams. My path in life is set, it's one to answer that very query “...What Lies Below?”.
Alyssa Thompson • Grade 12 • The Magic Library
What if in all the day to day craziness we all had a special place to call our own, like a magic library to escape to?
When I was a kid, my favorite activity was to cozy up with a blanket and read a book in my room to get away from it all.
I would imagine myself floating away, escaping to another world. Books were a safe haven for me. I could always depend on being transported to another place.
Libraries are a peaceful place I can retreat to when everywhere else becomes a little too loud.
Sirenity Ramos • Grade 10 • Grow
I based this work on my asthma, because when I was younger, I was always in the hospital, and people considered me fragile.
I drew the butterflies and flowers to represent my fragility, and the word, GROW, represents my lungs getting stronger as my asthma becomes more controlled.
Losseny Diane • Grade 11 • Guinean Boy
I wanted to show the love I have for my country, Guinea.
I added imagined elephants in the landscape, and the gold paint represents one of Africa’s natural resources.
Charlize Baez • Happy Beautiful City at Night
Imagine if the city looked beautiful and happy with happy faces.
That would be great.
Artist who inspired my work: James Rizzi
Janelsy Bido • Happy City So Clean & Shiny
Imagine if our city was clean and shiny.
It would be so happy.
Artist who inspired my work: James Rizzi
Gabriella Diaz • Happy City with Happy Faces
Imagine if our city looked beautiful and happy with happy faces.
That would be great.
Artist who inspired my work: James Rizzi
Jayden Melhado • Happy Colorful City
Imagine if our city was colorful and everyone was nice.
That would be so great.
Artist who inspired my work: James Rizzi
Serena Thomas • Happy Safe City
Imagine if our city was safe, clean, and everyone was happy.
Artist who inspired my work: James Rizzi
Nusrat Alam • Veggies & Fruits Forever
Imagine if we ate healthy and stayed healthy all the time and there would be no sickness.
Also, imagine if plants grew and had their own unique personality to help teach people how to keep themselves healthy.
Artist who inspired my work: Guiseppe Arcimboldo
Jariel Jorage • The Apple of My Eye
Imagine if fruits and vegetables had the same feelings humans did.
Bringing awareness to being and staying healthy through the foods we eat is what my art is about.
Artist who inspired my work: Guiseppe Arcimboldo
Inem Nnaetuk • The Big Apple
Imagine if the world was one big apple and we could all share it?
Eating healthy and staying healthy is important not just for ourselves but for our entire community.
Artist who inspired my work: Guiseppe Arcimboldo
Samiyah Moore • Mother Nature's Daughter
Imagine if life on earth could be a lot healthier and more peaceful for everyone.
We would appreciate our world and what Mother Nature has provided us with. This is what my artwork is about.
Artist who inspired my work: Guiseppe Arcimboldo
Shannon Bowles • The Fruit Special
Imagine if every fruit or vegetable that people ate, they could turn into a fruit and vegetable version of themselves.
Also, imagine if I could help inspire people to stay healthy by eating the right foods, it would make my community a better place. That is what my art is all about.
Artist who inspired my work: Guiseppe Arcimboldo
Grace Li • Grade 9 • Portrait of Miley Cyrus
Imagine if turning your life upside down got you everything you ever wanted?
Daisy Ramos Plata • Grade 11 • Ocean In The Sky
Imagine the world beyond the blue.
Waves of emerald, sapphire, and azure whirl in the sky.
In the light of all the energy of our everyday lives,
There is peace of mind just sitting down and looking at the sky,
Isn’t it nice to wind down as you see the ocean in the sky?
Daisy Ramos Plata • Grade 11 • Portrait of Mei
Imagine the world at her fingertips,
Power to create intricate designs,
While discovering the world built on diverse lines.
The many powers we have at our hands,
No matter the different homelands.
Lindsay Espana • Grade 11 • Black Legends
Imagine if all the famous musicians once on the radio were still with us.
They would surround us with the entrancing music they had once played.
Or the melodic voice they had once used in a chorus.
To wrap you in the same comfort and aid,
they would sing as if it were their last days.
Or scat until they were stopped.
It wouldn’t matter how long it takes
As long as we saw their oh-so prevalent spark.
Aaliyah Lewis • Grade 11 • The Roads To Everything & Nothing
Imagine that you are walking down a crowded street.
Everyone is unique and different in their own way, including yourself. You can choose to stop someone and talk to them or do what you usually do - put in your headphones and ignore the world.
My art always has a double meaning. My intended message is almost always different from the way my audience perceives it.
In The Roads that Lead to Everything and Nothing, the “roads” are topographic lines that purposely lead off the canvas. It is up to you to decide where those roads lead to.
Eva Mena • Grade 8 • Wisdom In A Bottle
Millipede in a bottle trying to escape.
Maya Motherwell • Grade 8 • Shocker
Jellyfish in a vase stunning and killing flowers.
Juliette Travia • Grade 8 • Peaceful Bottle
Fish Pond & florals bottled to represent a peaceful feeling.
Daniela Delilo • Grade 9 • Two Faced
Emotions worsening overtime.
From bad to worse.
Katarina Nunez • Grade 9 • Shenanigans
A lino print of cats who’ve taken shelter in a worn piano.
Kailey Cabrera • Berry Blast
This is a drawing of candy Nerds.
The image is filled with patterns and colors.
I think the patterns and colors compliment the original piece of candy but also changing and switching up the original piece of candy.
David Mancilla Cruz • Melting Air Heads
My inspiration for this piece of artwork was to incorporate the rainbow. I wanted to make sure I had every color.
I chose this style of a melting pattern because it is the first thing people notice when they see this.
They notice instantly the rainbow and melting effect of my artwork.
Kimberly Ramirez Quinteros • Colorful Candy
My inspiration for my work was using all the colors in different areas.
For example, for the balloon I put Christmas colors. For ‘H’ I did the pattern of little squares, for ‘E’ I did lines with blue and purple. For the little sticks around the paper, I put the fire colors of red, orange, and yellow. For the balloon eyes, I put blue because it matches with the background. For the background I put the pattern of half circles, and used blue, purple, and green. For the little letters in the corner, I put squares and lines in purple and green.
Julianna Gembs • Grade 11 • Clown
The image is a representation of how we feel like imposters sometimes as we navigate through life.
We put on a face as though everything is OK, but we are really hiding our true feelings.
I wanted to portray the feeling of not belonging somewhere or feeling less than others. This led to inquiries on the places people live and how different aspects of environment all show through in their identity.
My investigation is how one's judgement of themselves with imposter syndrome is much lower than others around them.
Polina Kalmatckaia • Grade 12 • The Giant Dragon
In this piece, I wanted to show
the gentleness and power of femininity
through gentle butterflies forming a dragon.
In my recent series of artworks, I want to show
how the social values of gender impact my life and art.
Gender is used as a basis for discriminations in society,
and unhealthy stereotypes
negatively affect everyone in the world including myself.
I shone a light on these issues through my art,
representing them through irony and surrealism.
Some of these conflicts covered include
violence, rape, abortion, inequality,
and breaking gender stereotypes.
Paul Kang • Grade 12 • Self Portrait
This piece is based on the lyrics from "I Lost a Friend" by FINNEAS, "Cause he made a little too much money to be twenty and sad". These lyrics relate to feelings relating to how people expect someone to be happy because of the circumstances they live in.
The key represents a key for a wind-up toy. It is stuck in the eye because it represents how sometimes people will stop functioning mentally because their own "key" stopped turning.
The piece was meant to be a commentary on the perspective of depression, because happiness does not always translate to inner happiness.
Amelia Pappas • Grade 12 • Checkmate
In this piece, I tried to depict different stages of my life growing up.
The chess pieces represent that life is a game that has rules, and the Graffiti represents breaking those rules and being rebellious.
The artwork is done on a 36” x 36” canvas. I Painted chess pieces then taped over them. Spray painted and painted graffiti, then painted the black squares.
Ashley Rose • Grade 12 • Rose
In class I was given a guitar on which to base a Self Portrait “. I had to come up with an idea and synthesize the medium.
I chose to do the serpent because I am enthralled with serpents , and I detailed roses out of clay because the flower is my last name.
Each Individual flower petals were sculpted, and I added them to a base of petals. They were small at first but grew bigger as the flower spread.
I used a lot of unfamiliar materials such as Gesso, clay, gorilla glue, hot glue, acrylic paint, screwdriver, and sandpaper.
Tanya Lin • Grade 3 • Flowers & Butterflies
My picture is of a vase on the table with a butterfly background.
I feel really proud of myself because it looks so pretty with the flowers and the butterflies.
For the tiles, I used many colors because I don't like using just one color for a vase.
Claire Lin • Grade 5 • Blossom
This is my radial design, and it represents a flower blooming.
It is full of bright colors and filled with joy for the new season Spring.
I was using my creativity so show life.
Rafael Arteta • Grade 5 • Starry Night
This picture makes me feel happy.
In this picture the sun is rising.
The stars are very bright and so is the moon.
This picture makes me feel proud.
Phiona Liu • Grade 5 • Ice-icle
This radial design piece represents ice and ice shards.
I drew this because I adore Winter and love the color blue.
I thought I could make something to resemble the things I like.
Nick Zhang • Grade 5 • The New Year Is Among Us
The New Year Among Us can make a new year a great time together.
It can let you spend a lot of time with your family and friends.
The main idea of this Among Us is to be happy and nice to one another.
Rylee Crandall • Prom Night
One thing I really missed doing was going to school dances with my friends.
Because of covid, I missed an entire year of dances, so in my senior year I’ve really tried to savor my last two.
I have really missed the entire atmosphere of homecoming and winter weekend, with the excitement of dancing, the neon lights, and loudly singing to our favorite songs.
It is one of my favorite parts of high school and I wish I had more time to appreciate them.
Bailey Harrer • Palm Of Our Hands
At every prospect of new opportunities, you commonly hear, “The world is in the palm of your hands!”.
As a high school senior this phrase has bounced around in my mind. Imagining the entire world and future at your fingertips is a startling thought.
Through my artwork I showed the common metaphor visually. Seeing the world in someone’s palms almost makes the idea less frightening to me.
Kalista Maiorano • The Embrace
Being young and coping with loss is a strange thing.
When I was 7 my Uncle Bummer passed away and I never really processed those feelings till I started to grow up.
I have so many amazing memories with him, but I never got to say goodbye, or give him one last final hug.
Although I don’t exactly lose sleep over my child-self not hugging him goodbye, I wish I could give him a hug now as a young adult to show my appreciation for all the good memories he gave me.
Ranem Allaham • The Hidden Glistening Glory of Mushrooms
This is my happy place. It has all the elements that I like.
This includes blue and purple islands, cats, books, a moon and mushrooms. Linear perspective along with creativity inspired me to create mushroom islands that float.
Colored Pencils, Markers, Sharpie and Watercolor were used to create this composition.
Ryder Ashkenas • Nocturnal Tadpoles
Imagine if there was a ladder emerging out of water and frogs clawing up the ladder.
I drew on black paper and made white pencil strokes along it.
Learning linear perspective inspired my composition.
William Chen • Modern Nature
Imagine if… I included buildings slowly becoming one with nature with vines slowly crawling up buildings.
The lesson on surrealism helped me convey what’s going on in my composition.
For example, in real life there are buildings that are worn down and becoming ancient places to society, so I combined those two ideas to come up with this image.
Tyler Liu • The World As An Ice Cube
Imagine if… The world was an ice cube, and it was melting.
Something that inspired me to create this composition was that the world is imperfect.
I used a pencil, ruler, and colored pencils to illustrate my composition.
A lesson on surrealism helped me convey what was going on by showing that nothing is perfect.
Yi Qui Sophia Mei • Lost In The Night
Imagine if you're lost in the fog and buildings are rendering through your vision as it gets clearer while the mist is flowing through the city.
White pencils on black cardstock were used to create this masterpiece.
Ayesha Hasnet • The Swan Pond • Ator
When I was painting, I was going to just paint the water and sky and then I got the idea to paint a swan in a pond.
My favorite part of my painting is the swirling motion around the swan.
Grace Crenshaw • Grade 2 • Warm & Cool 3-D Pop Out City
The city has so much going-on all the time.
I made one layer with warm colors and one layer with cool colors.
Jason Lu • Grade 6 • The Watchful Eye Between the Past & The Future
Imagine if a giant eye was all there was between what was in our past and what becomes our future.
What is natural and made is overseen by a watchful eye.
Antonio DeMatteo • Grade 5 • Hybrid Amphibian
Imagine an animal that is part duck, part zebra and part dragon.
It can survive on the land but can also float along the water like a duck.
It seems at first gentle as a zebra with its stripes but has sharp spikes like a mythical dragon or dinosaur to defend itself against a predator.
The storm tells you that it is a dark, ominous creature to be feared.
Nathan Jaramillo • Grade 6 • Super-Sized Mario
Imagine this surrealism inspired scene...
My favorite Video Game- giant sized and just sitting in the middle of Central Park.
Making the ordinary, extraordinary, like Claes Oldenburg.
Soleil Monge • Grade 5 • Zentangle Landscape
Imagine if all the textures of the Earth were made up of colorful patterns.
Kennet Angelino • Health Care
I believe that all human beings, regardless of race or color, need to be treated by a health professional.
It is important to be able to know the types of health concerns and problems in society.
Health is not only physical, mental -illnesses are also important.
Jaunte Codlin • Refugee Crisis
I chose the refugee crises because I have family, like aunts and cousins, that struggled in coming to America and I feel like this really represents a part of my family.
In my picture I included a building with smoke towards the top and there are people running away from the police.
I used transparency mainly in the smoke in which I tried to make it blend into the building.
My social justice collage shows a sense of violence that immigrants go through from all over the place.
Jose Rivas Miranda • Poverty
Poverty is a big problem that has not yet been resolved and it is not close to being resolved.
I come from a country that sees itself well represented in poverty and I liked that it would be a good topic to show both parts of what some go through.
For example, homeless people who only live on what they can get by begging, and others in the harsh conditions in which they live.
To emphasize this, I used descriptive images. Many people emigrate and try to find an opportunity in another country.
The problem is from those who lead us and only take advantage of a country to steal and corrupt, while the country collapses into unemployment, poverty and poor health.
Demarri Picton • Social Justice
Police brutality is the subject of my social justice artwork because of the way police handle citizens, not only because of race but also they know they have the authority to.
My composition shows how justice needs to be served for civilians that are innocent and it shows people wanting justice for their world.
Adding transparency added to the look and brought out the theme more.
It sends a message to people who have higher authority over others and want to abuse this power because they think they get no consequences.
Joseph Pineda • Deforestation
Deforestation is something that is affecting our whole planet.
My arrangement of images shows what people are doing to the millions of trees that are cut down.
My collage sends a powerful message because it could hit home that we are seriously damaging our planet.
Margaret Witthorne • Inspired
When I draw, I feel inspired.
Mark Kim • Grade 7 • Golden Stairs & Blue Trees
Tall golden staircase
Reaching for the tranquil trees
Blending together.
Jamila Jamali • Grade 8 • Not Everything is perfect
Imagine if you.
Tried to be like the others.
It would be scary.
Kaitlyn Peets • Grade 8 • Eternal
Imagine If you were watching the dancing sky.
The water flowing beneath the everlasting mountains.
Imagine If the stars shined so bright you can see them for miles
And the clouds are sprayed with sunlight.
Imagine If you’re in an Eternal Paradise with the mountains so high
And the grass so green.
Imagine If you’re at peace with yourself and the Nature around you.
Be that peace.
Simran Singh • Grade 8 • When the Dream & Real Combine
Colors spread through the air
sky night or dark.
The real and imaginative combine.
People can see the unreal
or what you can't imagine.
Dream the colors of your heart
Into a world of new.
Tradition and life combine.
Gold and black bring old and new.
The world is new.
Dreams are made real.
Winnie Yang • Grade 8 • Self Portrait
Tall golden staircase
Reaching for the tranquil trees
Blending together.
Claudine Sopchak • Your Future
In creating this piece, I hoped to portray the possibilities of the future.
On many days, the present may seem monotone and desolate, however, the hope that there is a better future for oneself is what drives many people to carry on with their dreams.
What this means to me personally is that while I may be dissatisfied or dispirited about my present life, the future could lead to much brighter possibilities that are worth living for.
The monotone area represents the “inside”, whereas the colorful section represents the “outside”, or what could be your future
