Madison O’Sullivan, junior at Harry S. Truman High School, won first place in the printmaking category of the PSEA Touch the Future Art Show. Three other Truman students also have work featured in the show: senior Hanely Herrera’s landscape painting, senior Gabrielle Minor’s steampunk self-portrait and junior Stephanie Duong’s “Hear and See No Evil” print.
The student art exhibition opened March 5 and runs through March 30 in the Blue Bell Art Gallery at Montgomery County Community College. The show is juried by Emily L. Dugan, Admissions Counselor at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University.
O’Sullivan’s winning print depicts Persephone, the Greek Goddess of Vegetation and the Queen of the Underworld.
“I sketched Persephone with mushrooms littered all over her body to depict her rebirth as ruler of the underworld,” said O’Sullivan. “The main message of the piece is the converting stages of life, which include both birth and decay.”
O’Sullivan created the piece in Karen Bryceland’s Art 2 class and says the process of making the print was challenging.
“The ink was difficult to use because of how thick it is and how messy it gets. It was mostly trial and error,” said O’Sullivan.
When she found out she won first place, O’Sullivan was thrilled.
“This achievement meant to me that all of my hard work was recognized and appreciated,” she said. “I would like to thank my friends and family for supporting me and my art teachers who have guided me to my success.”
After O’Sullivan graduates, she plans to attend an art school and earn her bachelor’s degree in art education.
