The Summer Apprentice Program at Notre Dame gives high school students an immersive art experience. The program is offered through the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at the Notre Dame campus. To be considered for the program, students must be recommended by their art teachers, complete an application, and participate in a portfolio review interview. This year Saint Joseph High School were fortunate to have five students selected for this prestigious opportunity: Zyniaya Baez, Caroline Kocovski, Lucy Noem, Lexie DePauw, and Cate Harrington. They worked diligently throughout the summer and created some great pieces. 

The topic for their pieces was the environment, but that didn’t stop the students from getting creative. All of these artists had different interpretations of the topic of the environment, and it’s really a sight to see what they concocted. Flowers, octopuses, a person’s mental state, Biblical references–these young artists demonstrated their talents in a way that makes their pieces truly original. Not only did they work on their pieces, but they learned about art in general so they could understand what art is. Lexie DePauw explains the experience, “The first week we spent doing art studies learning a bit about art history, and the second week we worked on a week-long project which was eventually displayed within the museum.” 

Lucy Noem describes her piece as emphasizing the unity of a person, “using a more realistic manner with the color pencils to show the parts you know about a person, and swirly and abstract parts showing the lesser known part of a person.” Rather than just drawing a superficial painting that, yes, looks beautiful, they have value. They convey a message you can only discover if you look at it yourself. Located in the art hall, near the staircase, I encourage everyone to take a moment to appreciate their artwork. Try to find the meaning behind each painting and discover the environment they portray through their vibrant, dark, abstract, realistic–beautiful–works of art.