Eleventh-grade student Maggie Guteff is representing the Bristol Township School District in this year’s Bucks IU Student Art Gallery. Guteff’s artwork “Autumn” is a series of three ink drawings that portray different views of the season, featuring the environment, a cottage, and a close-up of nature.
Each year, the Bucks IU Student Art Gallery showcases one piece of art from the County’s 13 public school districts and several nonpublic schools. Guteff attended an art gallery reception on March 26, where the IU celebrated the students and their artwork.
“This piece went through a lot of challenges, and took a great deal of time and late nights to finally complete it,” said Guteff, who created it in her Art 2 class, taught by Emily Pacenski, at Truman High School.
Initially, Guteff was focused on other objects such as pears and kettles, before switching to the idea of “Autumn.”
“Each image went through a process of mapping, outlining, and then progressive value,” says Guteff.
After switching the focus of her project, she then had the challenge of adding detail without overdoing it.
“How could I possibly imitate shades in vines with only a fine line?” asked Guteff. “That is when I had to get creative and try to imitate texture.”
The next obstacle she faced was when ink blotted on the paper not once, but twice.
“I had to get creative with how to get rid of the obvious bold ink amidst the finer details surrounding it,” said Guteff. “One of the two most important things that I learned from my art studio growing up was to never give up, and make a mistake into something of itself.”
Since the first ink blot was smaller, a teacher suggested she turn it into a flower. Guteff wasn’t sure if having a flower popping up through the leaves fit her theme of “Autumn” though.
“My dear, cat-loving mother, with the most creative ideas, said, ‘Make it into a cat,’” which Guteff initially laughed at. She already had a cat sitting on the fence, but now the cat would not be lonely.
“We did a few little doodles of how the cat could be positioned, and then the heart-stopping moment came when I had to further increase the black splotch to successfully make it into a cat,” said Guteff.
Although she was afraid she would mess up again, it turned out better than all of her sketches, and actually ties together the focus of the cat on the fence.
The second blot happened right behind the fence, and Guteff said it blended in perfectly by disguising it as a rock.
She enjoys taking art classes at Truman and likes to express art in different ways, such as photography, making jewelry and keychains, and crafting.
“Ever since I was in kindergarten, I remember art class being that one special place where I felt at home, and I could not wait each week to spend an hour in that classroom,” says Guteff. “Pursuing art has always been my dream, but I never thought that it would become a reality.”
When she was little, Guteff was scared of creating a portfolio to display her skills and that her art wasn’t worthy enough to become an artist.
“I still have this fear lingering from time to time, but thanks to my supportive friends, family, and most importantly, art teachers in Truman, it is something which I now ignore,” she says.
In her junior year, Guteff says she knows she wants to attend college for the arts, whether it's to become a teacher, small-business owner, or work as a designer.
“Like this artwork showed—I know that however difficult it may become or whatever challenge may come my way, I will only persevere and grow,” she said.