Artists Around East

Walk through the art wing at East, one is likely to pass classrooms full of students learning different varieties of art. From the foundations classes just learning how to sketch to the AP studio art classes working on complicated perspective drawing, the possibilities for a creative outlet are almost endless.

According to Jewelry teacher Wanda Simchuck, in recent years, Shawnee Mission East has become a mecca for art students because of the wide variety of courses offered. East has a big enough enrollment in the art department to have six teachers, the most of any high school in the district, and this allows more specialized art classes like Advanced Jewelry, Fibers, and Printmaking.

Many students have taken advantage of this opportunity. Whether it be a brush on canvas, pencil on paper, a saw on a silver, or even spray-paint on a cement wall, young artists at East have found a lifelong hobby expressing themselves through their work.

Faye Schumacher : Jewelry

Senior Faye Schumacher walked into Jewelry 1 class at East not expecting to like it. She had taken it as a last resort art class because she needed to fill her schedule, but she walked out one  semester later with a newfound love of jewelry making.

It was her sophomore year. She went into art teacher Wanda Simchuck’s jewelry class expecting to hate it, and at first, she did. However, things changed when she made her second project in the class: a ring.

“I fell in love with [jewelry], and I’ve been taking it ever since,” Schumacher said.

A turquoise stone surrounded by a metal flower, that first ring is still her favorite piece that she’s made so far, because of the complexity of it.

Now a senior, Schumacher has taken Advanced Jewelry once already, and is currently enrolled in the course. She is also taking it next semester. She specializes in making rings, and has made a total of 14 so far.

Almost all of her pieces have some sort of coloring, and she loves incorporating flowers in her jewelry.

Schumacher loves the concept of wearing her own pieces,  and says it is one of the things that makes the medium of jewelry one of her favorite.

“I just think it’s cool that I can make anything I want and just wear it,” Schumacher said. “I love the idea that I made it and know where it came from.”

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Nick Lucas : Painting

Being a featured artist at a coffee house is a rare honor, one bestowed upon senior Nick Lucas in November when he was declared “Artist of the Month” at Starbucks in the Prairie Village Shopping Center.

Lucas, whose medium of choice is painting, did not get his start until sophomore year, when he took a painting class with Jodie Schnakenberg. After that class, he started painting in his free time as a way to stay busy.

The walls of Starbucks are currently lined with Lucas’s pieces; ranging from a solitary silhouette of a tree in the night to a cigarette-smoking old man lost in thought, grey mountains looking on behind him. Men in suits are a common theme, and unique affinity of Lucas’.

“I feel like painting is so different from any other thing, any office job, and it’s kind of an oxymoron to bring the professionalism that comes along with wearing a suit onto canvas,” Lucas said.

He uses his family’s guestroom as a studio and often spends hours on end working on his pieces.

“I’ll feel like it’s been fifteen minutes but I’ll have been doing it for two hours,” Lucas said. “I turn on Kid Cudi and just go to work.”

Lucas’s mother has been a regular at Starbucks for a long time, and knows the manager. After the scheduled November Artist of the Month cancelled unexpectedly, the manager asked Mrs. Lucas if Nick would be interested in filling in, and he seized the opportunity.

“I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my work. I think it’s really cool. It’s just exciting to have it up,” Lucas said.

He plans on applying to the Chicago Art Institute and seeing where his painting takes him in the future.

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Miguel Bojorquez : Painting

Pink, green and yellow splotches filled in the letters of his name, making them look like part of  a neon sign against the black Sharpie encircling them. He finished sketching the final shadows into the letter “L” on his graffiti-style piece, and admired the finished product.  It was seventh grade, and current Junior Miguel Bojorquez had just started drawing for fun.

Today, drawing is an essential part of Bojorquez’s life. He even calls it his “passion.”  He draws everything from landscapes to portraits, but what he really loves is freelance work, where the ideas come from his imagination.

Bojorquez is inspired by ordinary everyday objects- things he hears or sees going through his hectic life.

“The posters and pictures that are hanging up in the Crossroads and Westport really inspire me,” Bojorquez said. “They’re just like weird abstract drawings and characters.”

He describes his style as very “pow, in-your-face” and likes working mostly with bright colors. His sketchbook travels with him everywhere, and is a part of who he is. When he needs to express himself, he turns to a new page and draws.

Bojorquez’s peers love seeing his latest drawings, and always give him feedback on his work.

“I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments, and that keeps me fired up to continue being an artist,” Bojorquez said.

As for the future, Bojorquez plans on studying graphic design, and keeping art in his life forever.

Throughout the years, Bojorquez has drawn his fair share of pieces, but he says that his favorite drawing is still the graffiti piece of his name that he drew four years ago in seventh grade.

“I always go back to it and I remember,” says Bojorquez. “I just look at it and I think about how much I’ve grown from that point and how much I still have to learn as an artist.”

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Brandon Evinger : Grafitti

Senior Brandon Evinger looks at the pencil sketch he holds in hand, and slowly tries to copy each curve in the design onto the cement wall in front of him using white filler paint.  Once the sketch he holds is duplicated on the cement, he begins spraying color over the white, filling in the letters one layer of color after another. He starts with the deep purples and blues, and over the layers of paint he makes his way to the brighter yellows and whites.

He steps back to see if the piece looks complete. Once every blank space has been filled, Evinger quickly sprays the letters S-N-A-Z in the bottom corner, just like he’s done dozens of times before.

“Pretty much every piece I’ll do, I’ll have the word snaz in it,” Evinger said. “I don’t even know why, it just makes me feel happy because it’s a funny word.”

Before he took drawing at East sophomore year, Evinger was never into art. He would make attempt after attempt but get fed up when his work did not turn out as he had planned.

After countless tries, one successful drawing made Evinger realize his knack for art.

“After I got one thing that was really good, it just took off from there, and I loved it,” Evinger said.

The idea of creating a piece of art featuring a word that has meaning to him drew Evinger to graffiti.

“At first I was just doing [graffiti] to try and create something cool-looking, but then I just started doing it because of my emotions, and it just became more fun,” Evinger said.

One thing he has always wanted to change about himself is his short temper, and graffiti has provided an outlet to help him calm down and relax if he needs to.

“It pretty much just helps relieve stress,” says Evinger. “ It helps me just get away from all the real world drama stuff.”

Once he has snaz written in the corner of his piece, it is finished. He steps back and takes it in. It reads “VIRTUE,” and each time he looks at it he is reminded of the role graffiti has played in his life.

All photos by Dan Stewart.