Seniors Briana Johnson and Leyla Namazie showcased their artwork from this year in the Eastern Star Gallery. Johnson displayed her photographs, while Namazie showcased her pieces from advanced ceramics class.

Briana Johnson

Johnson opened her exhibit on Thursday, April 20 during X-Block for Archer students and faculty to view her work. Johnson showcased a series of her photographs from the past year, all of which were printed in black and white.

“I started photo in ninth grade, and I’ve loved it ever since,” Johnson said.

During her sophomore year and throughout her senior year, Johnson branched out from focusing primarily on street photography to other forms, such as portraits and landscapes.

“I’ve always been drawn to street photography. I like that I’m able to show the world from my point of view,” Johnson said.

Over this past year, Johnson worked on this exhibit while simultaneously finishing other projects for her displayed collection. Over the course of several months, Johnson compiled the photos she took from various trips during this year. 

This grouping of photographs consisted of pictures of places such as Chicago, Puerto Rico and San Francisco. Johnson took these photos while on trips, and she snapped a picture of anything that caught her eye.

“I shoot pretty candidly, so I don’t go to a specific location. When I’m exploring cities, and if I like something, I’ll just decide to photograph it,” Johnson said.

Leyla Namazie

Namazie began taking ceramics in middle school and continued in her freshman and sophomore year. In her junior year, Namazie skipped the class in order to take Honors Research but decided to take it again for the 2016-17 school year.

“I love ceramics because of the stress-free environment that exists in the class,” she said.

“When you are working on a piece you usually do not have to think about anything else which is really refreshing and relaxing. It’s really therapeutic and a great break from work.”

Her favorite pieces from ceramics are from this particular exhibition because the long term project allowed her to truly exert her creativity and artistic vision.

“There is a lot more freedom to explore the forms that interest you and you are given plenty of time to develop your ideas and create a proposal,” Namazie said.

Prior to this year, Namazie did not have much experience with sculpture but enjoyed trying it this year.

“This year I really wanted to work on exploring relationships between color and texture and using different shapes and sizes in my work,” Namazie said.

“Because I really love the ocean and marine creatures, I figured it would be a perfect opportunity that would incorporate unique color combinations as well as specific forms and textures.”