Using Art to Show Life’s Transitions

February 17, 2022

Academics

GNS

Savanna Yaremchuk ’22 is one of three students who will be displaying their art at the Grade 12 IB Art Exhibition this year. She will be displaying pieces that she has been working on for the past two years, and they all revolve around the theme of ‘Change,’ especially change around the different stages of life.

Her pieces reflect different times in her life including childhood and the transition years from teenagehood to adulthood.

“I think it’s really relevant to my situation, as I am currently going through a stage of life where I am leaving high school and becoming my own person,” she said. “It’s a tough time, but also exciting. I love using art to show not only the exciting parts in life but the more difficult ones.”

Out of all the pieces she will be showing, Savanna noted her favourite piece was called “Collecting Glances,” which is a butterfly piece.

“I love it because it’s a different type of piece than I’ve never done—it’s perfectly symmetrical, which is hard to achieve and I’m proud of the way it looks,” she described.

Throughout her exhibition pieces, Savanna used mainly acrylic on canvas, and sometimes mixed media, but acrylic was always included.

“I like acrylic because it’s user-friendly, and doesn’t require a lot of new materials. It’s in a lot of classes as I’ve grown up using it,” she said. “Oil painting isn’t usually as popular because it takes so much time to perfect, but acrylic you can play and have fun with it.”

Savanna has been making art since a young age. It runs in her blood and was encouraged by her mother, who has always made art accessible for her.

“Just being around supplies and media is one of the most important things, because that’s how you’re able to do art,” she said. “Once you have access to it, the opportunities are endless, so as a kid even just playing with the media has allowed me to not only develop my technical skills but also to be able to love spending my time doing it.”

What inspires Savanna is colour, which can be seen throughout her pieces. There are a lot of vibrant colours illustrating her memories—one piece will be a photo she repainted from her childhood.

“I feel like in this environment a lot of people use muted colours, and I feel like art is so exciting and fun and can express so many different emotions and bright colours can do that,” she said. “Also memories—it’s really interesting to look back at stuff in a different angle and for an extended period when you’re making a piece.”

Regarding her post-secondary plans, Savanna is looking to pursue a Bachelor in Fine Arts, where she hopes to do a double major in Fine Arts and English.

“I just really love having scheduled time to do art,” she said about wanting to pursue fine arts after graduation. “In our busy lives it becomes so hard to prioritize some hobbies, so having time put away to do art is so important to me. Also, I want to continue developing my skills because I love doing it and see myself doing it in the future.

Savanna and two other classmates will be showcasing their art from March 9 to 16. Don’t forget to come by and see the amazing work they have all put into their pieces. Stay tuned for the location.

“It’s really important to support the artists at GNS no matter what faculty of the art,” comments Savanna. “We have put so much time and effort into it and it’s a really important part of our lives. All artists love when others can take their work in and spend time appreciating their effort.”