Artist: Aeron Gurskis
Writer: Nathan Turnbeaugh
Editor: Michelle Lo

Aeron Gurskis, a sophomore, has been folding modular origami pieces since the pandemic when he made his first kusudama ball out of sheer boredom. Soon he was hooked, and he began to delve deeper into the world of Japanese origami. Gurskis began to experiment with his own designs to understand how the individual pieces of each kusudama ball came together. Eventually, he could create his first thirty-piece ball without any outside instruction. Inspired by Pinterest, Gurskis made this variation of a kusudama ball with added flowers as accents. The twelve individual flowers took him ten minutes each, while the ball itself took an insurmountable four hours to complete, factoring in the time for assembly, the completed piece took eight hours to reach the state we see now. As for the materials, Gurskis is incredibly resourceful, using Post-It notes to assemble the flowers and utilizing the adhesive portion to better hold together the ball. In total, he used ninety pieces of paper, the flowers using sixty, and the ball itself taking up thirty. Gurskis says the piece itself isn’t attempting to provoke any particular response or convey a message, rather, it served more as an experiment to test his own creativity.

Artist: Melissa Hong
Writer: Nikko Sandez
Editor: Nathan Turnbeaugh

Melissa Hong is a 14-year-old freshman who started making Origami ever since covid. She realized that it was hard to make friends during the pandemic. Origami was something Melissa used to connect with her friends online, spending hours on Zoom making cool models they found online. Melissa particularly enjoyed crafting origami flowers and bunnies, aligning with the Year of the Rabbit during the lunar new year. She often uses Post-it notes to make the origami bunnies since the paper is already cut into a square. In this piece, she also used Post-it notes. One thing she struggled with was the sticky sides of the notes which made it harder to do correct folds.

Melissa Hong is a 14-year-old freshman who started making Origami ever since covid. She realized that it was hard to make friends during the pandemic. Origami was something Melissa used to connect with her friends online, spending hours on Zoom making cool models they found online. Melissa particularly enjoyed crafting origami flowers and bunnies, aligning with the Year of the Rabbit during the lunar new year. She often uses Post-it notes to make the origami bunnies since the paper is already cut into a square. In this piece, she also used Post-it notes. One thing she struggled with was the sticky sides of the notes which made it harder to do correct folds.

Bowen Yan

The clock strikes twelve,

like the tide reveals the sand

Dependable,

My float on the waves.

And every year, I see you come again.

Only you never leave me

when everyone else does

without a self I guess you wouldn’t

you come again like the tide washing up

coming again, again, again.

You nor I get a choice

About your coming that marks my year.

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In many ways, Bowen Yan’s discovery and growing interest in poetry was by pure chance. Yan, a sophomore at Carlmont High School, first explored poetry in his eighth grade English class, but did not particularly resonate with it. It was not until he discovered the newly found Art Showcase Club this year that he decided he wanted to pick up poetry again. This, partnered with connecting with fellow poet Michelle Lo, combined to inspire Yan to create his poem “Stable.”

“Stable” is a free verse poem that explores the stable nature of the passage of time even as many other elements in our lives are marked by instability. As people enter and exit our lives, the one thing that remains consistent is something as abstract as time. The line “You nor I get a choice / About your coming that marks my year” particularly reflects this idea, as the narrator finds a certain joy and comfort in knowing the routine nature of the seasons. Time is the narrator’s one companion, a solemn yet beautiful insight into the nature of human loneliness and loss. “Hold on,” the poem seems to be saying, for soon enough the next season will be here to greet you.

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Artist: Yura Park
Writer: Shiori Chen
Editor: Michelle Lo

In Jewelries, an acrylic painting made on a 24×24 canvas, Yura Park strove to depict her identity as a Korean American. Park originally created the piece to submit to an exhibition. Through her intricate consolidation of various Western and traditional Korean accessories, she attempted to showcase the beauty of her culture. Her painting can be interpreted as a dynamic representation of cultural fusion and heritage. 

Park’s mastery of acrylic paint is shown clearly through her deliberate choices regarding composition and color. She initially sketched the center ornament and developed the painting around it to ensure harmony between the objects. Park also emphasized the color in her painting by using alluring hues sharply contrasted by the dark background. As an artist who enjoys using color in her pieces, she intentionally chose to create a compelling piece through color to capture the audience’s attention.

As a high school student, Park struggled between the balance of her schoolwork and making progress on the painting. Nonetheless, she persevered and created the beautiful piece we see now.

In Jewelries, an acrylic painting made on a 24×24 canvas, Yura Park strove to depict her identity as a Korean American. Park originally created the piece to submit to an exhibition. Through her intricate consolidation of various Western and traditional Korean accessories, she attempted to showcase the beauty of her culture. Her painting can be interpreted as a dynamic representation of cultural fusion and heritage. 

Park’s mastery of acrylic paint is shown clearly through her deliberate choices regarding composition and color. She initially sketched the center ornament and developed the painting around it to ensure harmony between the objects. Park also emphasized the color in her painting by using alluring hues sharply contrasted by the dark background. As an artist who enjoys using color in her pieces, she intentionally chose to create a compelling piece through color to capture the audience’s attention.

As a high school student, Park struggled between the balance of her schoolwork and making progress on the painting. Nonetheless, she persevered and created the beautiful piece we see now.

Artist: Brendan Ng
Writer: Audrey Navasca
Editor: Michelle Lo

Inspired by his friend’s cat, Mochi, Brendan Ng wanted to capture “a calm scene that shows how content cats can be.” Ng began drawing at a young age but started using pencils seriously about five years ago. He prefers pencils, as they are a versatile and forgiving medium. In this piece, Cat, he played with the contrast of highlights and shadows to make the scene feel cozy. Instead of traditional shading techniques commonly used in sketches, Ng used a shading style by drawing simple lines to create dimension. Ng wants to communicate feelings and share experiences that go beyond words through his art.

Inspired by his friend’s cat, Mochi, Brendan Ng wanted to capture “a calm scene that shows how content cats can be.” Ng began drawing at a young age but started using pencils seriously about five years ago. He prefers pencils, as they are a versatile and forgiving medium. In this piece, Cat, he played with the contrast of highlights and shadows to make the scene feel cozy. Instead of traditional shading techniques commonly used in sketches, Ng used a shading style by drawing simple lines to create dimension. Ng wants to communicate feelings and share experiences that go beyond words through his art.

Artist: Erick Cheng
Writer: Michelle Lo
Editor: Nathan Turnbeaugh

Erick Cheng, a sophomore at Carlmont High School, has had an artistic eye throughout his entire life through various artistic mediums. However, his photography is truly his expertise. This photo named “A Ray of Sunlight” was taken by Cheng on an ordinary walk with his camera, a Nikon DSLR. His photo conveys a sense of warmth to its viewer through its warm colors, rays of sun, and golden hour-like lighting. Using Lightroom Classic, Cheng was able to enhance the photo’s colors to reach its full vividity and potential. He hopes that viewers will realize that anything can make a beautiful photo—all it takes is a little time and focus to hone one’s surroundings to truly focus on the moment.

Erick Cheng, a sophomore at Carlmont High School, has had an artistic eye throughout his entire life through various artistic mediums. However, his photography is truly his expertise. This photo named “A Ray of Sunlight” was taken by Cheng on an ordinary walk with his camera, a Nikon DSLR. His photo conveys a sense of warmth to its viewer through its warm colors, rays of sun, and golden hour-like lighting. Using Lightroom Classic, Cheng was able to enhance the photo’s colors to reach its full vividity and potential. He hopes that viewers will realize that anything can make a beautiful photo—all it takes is a little time and focus to hone one’s surroundings to truly focus on the moment.

Artist: Erick Cheng
Writer: Justin Dubbs
Editor: Shiori Chen

Erick Cheng, a talented 15-year-old sophomore specializing in photography, has started working in his expertise since April. Despite his recent introduction to the art, he already demonstrates his professional knowledge and expertise. He takes many photos before choosing the best to be edited to perfection in Adobe Lightroom. With his technique down to a tee, Cheng can create beautiful images in less than an hour. A Golden Ray of Sunlight demonstrates this incredibly effective process of being a vibrant display of something so simple. The photo depicts a simple background of shades of orange and red with a focus on an autumn leaf taken in such great detail the texture of the leaves can be counted and numbered. Its alluring colors illustrate the beauty of the fall season, and it is a stellar example of a photo capturing the autumn spirit. 

Erick Cheng, a talented 15-year-old sophomore specializing in photography, has started working in his expertise since April. Despite his recent introduction to the art, he already demonstrates his professional knowledge and expertise. He takes many photos before choosing the best to be edited to perfection in Adobe Lightroom. With his technique down to a tee, Cheng can create beautiful images in less than an hour. A Golden Ray of Sunlight demonstrates this incredibly effective process of being a vibrant display of something so simple. The photo depicts a simple background of shades of orange and red with a focus on an autumn leaf taken in such great detail the texture of the leaves can be counted and numbered. Its alluring colors illustrate the beauty of the fall season, and it is a stellar example of a photo capturing the autumn spirit. 

Artist: Ellen Li
Writer: Michelle Lo
Editor: Nathan Turbeaugh

Ellen Li, a sophomore at Carlmont High School, has been taking pictures of life’s natural beauties since she was young as a way to preserve her memories of charming scenery and Earth’s beauty. Her passion for photography began when her dad would take pictures of her as a kid which eventually rubbed off on her—turning her into the brilliant photographer she is today. This particular picture of a small waterfall was taken on her visit to South Korea during her summer break. Li captured this scene using her iPhone and it took her thirty minutes to edit its natural hues. The photo portrays her melancholy and bittersweetness through its darker hues, as it was her last day in Korea.

Artist: Erick Cheng
Writer: Jiho Park
Editor: Shiori Chen

“Golden Lavender” was taken by Erick Cheng, a 15-year-old, while on a walk around the neighborhood with his camera. Erick started progressing with his photography skills in April of 2023 and has become the excellent photographer we see today. He named this piece the “Golden Lavender” as it depicts this recognizable purple flower–lavender– bathed in golden sunshine. During his walk, he found this lavender bush and thought it looked pleasant, so he snagged a photo with a great background. This process took him less than half an hour. Later, he would edit the image to make the final product we see now, which took around 15 minutes. He has no true motive behind this piece except that he wanted to show that anything can look beautiful under a camera lens if taken correctly.

Artist: Ellen Li
Writer: Michelle Lo
Editor: Nathan Turnbeaugh

Ellen Li, a sophomore at Carlmont High School, began her photography journey as a young child, when her dad would photograph her with the scenery around them. Li’s passion and love for photography passed onto her allowed her to become the photographer and artist she is today. Her photography allows her to capture memories that she can look back on and savor throughout her life. This particular photo, she took while on her vacation to the Grand Canyon. It captures the vivid orange and umber hues found on this famous landmark—accentuating this canyon’s natural beauty which showcases nature’s colorful allure. Using her iPhone, she photographed this vast force of nature while giving the viewer a sense of insignificance when compared to this giant monument. It took her thirty minutes to edit and bring out this photo’s true brightness, vibrance, and brilliance.