Landon Dobbs, “Transgender Evolution,” Lord Botetourt High School

My pieces are representing transgender people of history, the problems we face and the hope of something better. I wanted to represent these people in a good light using bright colors and textured media to make them pop. I used oil pastel to blend together colors showing a transition that represents the transition the individuals have and are going through. My pieces are giving more transgender representation and hopefully educating about transgender history.

Karen Villanueva, “Storyteller,” Blacksburg High School

Humans, out of all living organisms, have the unique ability to create and share stories with one another. This unique ability is arguably one of humanity’s greatest tools. Stories, regardless of how they are shared, allow us to more easily make sense of the world. They give us ways to connect to each other. They let us better communicate our ideas and beliefs and cultures. They push us to think beyond our current reality. Stories surround us in everyday life, and the act of storytelling is interwoven into human identity. Through art, one of the most powerful storytelling mediums there are, this portfolio explores the power of stories and what roles they play in the human experience. 

With such an expansive subject as stories, the pieces in this portfolio focus on broadly highlighting the benefits of storytelling. Each work seeks to convey a different generalized aspect in which stories are powerful, guiding the viewer through various examples that push them to connect to specific moments in their own lives. The familiar scene of bedtime stories serves as a reminder of the many colorfully illustrated fairy tales and funny comics and fables that taught important life lessons to think on for years to come. A girl peering through the back of a book symbolizes the ability stories have to further human knowledge through the perspectives of others and provoke people to think more critically about their own world views. Three faces caught amongst swirling pages show the power of storytelling in bringing forth the wide range of emotions that allow us to fully experience our humanity.

Together, the portfolio serves as a token of appreciation for the many stories that give our lives so much more color and depth. They can connect people together through a bedtime story, encourage deeper thought through the sharing of ideas, or sweep someone away into a whole other world. Like art, stories are incredibly powerful and will forever be an integral part of shaping our identities as human beings.