Chloe Rippe
Arts, Entertainment, and Technology Editor
Students may know senior Olivia Healy for her unique style, or for the art that she has exhibited in various school galleries. Some may have even caught a glimpse into her artistic process through her Instagram account, Rhovanion, with which she documents her projects and sketches. However, her passion for art transcends day-to-day outfit choices and iPhone shots.
Olivia’s exposure to art began at an early age. “My dad’s an artist and my brothers sort of are too, so it was something I was always doing,” she said.
One of her first major artistic challenges, she said, was being accepted into the Saxe Middle School Art Program, ‘Challenges in Art’, designed to provide projects and inspiration for creative students. It also triggered her passion for art. “I was always trying to get in C.I.A. in middle school, so I really started to focus on art then,” she said.
After her interest in art developed, she decided to pursue artistic opportunities in the high school. “It took a while to get into an art class in high school because seniors have superiority in their choices,” Olivia said. “So I didn’t take any art classes freshman year, and then sophomore year I did and junior year I also started taking additional art classes.”
As a junior, Olivia entered the class Advanced Studio Art, taught by art teacher, Lisa Floryshak-Windman. This class in particular allowed Olivia to explore her own creative projects and interests. “I did oil paintings based on Game of Thrones. I’m really into the visuals behind movies and video games, so I sort of did projects based off of that, and the design elements of that show and the time period of the show,” she said.
Olivia’s approach to painting allows her to fully define detail and range of dark and light tones as she develops a piece. “It usually starts as a doodle in class honestly, and then I might do a bigger pencil sketch, and I sketch it out in charcoal on the canvas,” she said. “When painting, first I do darks, I do an under painting with the background and all the dark colors, and then I add the light colors.”
Some of her conceptual creativity comes from experience she received at the Central St. Martins College of Art and Design and Parsons art pre-college programs. “They definitely helped a lot, because in those classes they give you the opportunity to make your own projects for yourself and allow you to work on your own style of art, which I think is very helpful. The pieces I made at those classes are some of my best,” she said.
The Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design pre-college program, located in London, United Kingdom, also brought her closer to the college she will be attending, Falmouth University, in Cornwall U.K. “I knew I wanted to be in England because it’s cheaper mainly, and basically I visited a few schools there and the illustration degree appealed to me the most,’ she said. “Also the area’s very beautiful, it’s by the ocean and the countryside.”
In preparation for college, however, Olivia had to first strengthen her portfolio to send to various schools. “Basically, you put in your bigger pieces. They definitely want to look at figure drawings because they want to make sure you have the technicalities of it right, and since I’ve done so many different life drawing classes, I had a lot to choose from, which was helpful,” she said. “Most of it was done within the last year and a half. I just chose the pieces I worked on the most.”
Although she has already been accepted into her target art school, Olivia said that she’s excited to work on the assignments for her senior year Advanced Studio Art concentration. “I’m really looking forward to the project I’m starting in class now, because it’s very conceptual, which I think is something that an artist needs to have background in,” she said. “I was looking at different artists’ work and it sort of inspired me to do what I’m doing now, which is the female figure, and combining that with the color yellow and nature, like flowers and bugs,” she said.
Olivia is also contributing her art skills to the online magazine, C’est Comme Ca headed by senior Kala Berg. “Kala came up with the idea after looking at another student’s magazine called Rookie. She wanted to do an art and fashion online magazine, and basically she got in touch with us, so I’m doing the art direction on that, and doing layout and photo shoots. It’s a lot of fun.”
As Olivia completes her senior year, she looks forward to her future career and educational goals. “I’m hoping to get an illustration degree, and then since that’s only a three year program in England, after that I want to do a Master’s one year degree in entertainment design,” she said. “Hopefully if I can follow through with that career I can work in movies, TV shows and video games. That would be really exciting.”
