“Inseparable” is how art teacher Adam Finkelston has referred to Margo and Charlotte Harding, a title that both of them shrug at, but never quite deny.
“We’re not just sisters,” junior Margo Harding said. “We’re also friends.”
Growing up as friends in a household filled with art meant making art together.
Margo and Charlotte's mom works in graphic design, and their dad is an animator.
“We always had art supplies available,” Margo said. “Growing up in that environment made me like art a lot more.”
Senior Charlotte Harding echoes the same memory.
“Pretty much my whole life, I’ve been drawing,” Charlotte said. “As long as I can remember, I’ve been doing art.”
Charlotte even recalled a family tradition of creating art as a family after dinner.
Since the Hardings dad worked at Hallmark as a cartoonist, there was always an abundance of printer paper and markers around.
Even the eldest sister, Elise Harding, is studying animation at the Kansas City Animation Institute.
Margo gravitates toward fantasy art. Her favorite movie is a musical fantasy from 1986 called Labyrinth, and her face brightens when she talks about Brian Froud — the conceptual designer.
On the other hand, Charlotte’s AP portfolio is full of biology‑inspired pieces, molecules and diaphonized — a way of staining a specimen — fish.
“Her art kind of looks biological recently,” Margo said. “She draws a lot of animals and weird little molecules. I think that’s fun.”
The sisters' admiration goes both ways.
“She’s really good at painting,” Charlotte said. “Last year in painting class, I was always like, ‘Wow, she’s so much better than me.’ She’s so creative, she can make the weirdest creatures.”
Their styles don’t match, but they still influence each other in quiet ways.
Sometimes, when the sisters were younger, Margo often looked at Charlotte’s drawings and borrowed ideas. Now, they still draw together – sometimes literally on the same page.
Last semester, they collaborated on a landscape piece for Finkleston’s art class in which they interpreted an outdoor area. They also painted a parody of the Mona Lisa, finishing it in just thirty minutes. It still hangs on their art teacher Emma Chalk’s wall.
The sisters' futures are lining up in different ways. Margo hopes to pursue art professionally, maybe illustration. For her, art isn’t just a hobby.
Charlotte’s artwork resembles her future career. Right now, she’s headed to the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln to study animal science on the pre‑vet track and plans to keep art as a hobby.
“I’ll definitely keep painting,” Charlotte said. “Even if it’s not my job, it’s still something I love.”
People mix up the sisters constantly. Names, attendance and even teachers confusing one for the other. Margo does more arts‑and‑crafts‑type projects, while Charlotte sticks to drawing characters and pencil work.
“People say we’re very similar,” Charlotte said. “Our humor, our personalities. But our art? Not really.”
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