The County Chronicle

The online newspaper of Loudoun County High School

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Stephanie Woshner’s painting is selected to be displayed at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Alexis Shugars | Staff Writer

Art teacher, Stephanie Woshner’s watercolor painting, titled “Grandpap’s Garden”. Woshner’s painting was chosen to be displayed at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.

Loudoun County High School art teacher Stephanie Woshner was chosen by the Shenandoah Art Council this year to have her painting displayed at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester.

Woshner had previously known about Artscape, Baltimore’s largest annual arts festival, and has even had former students submit work of their own. Woshner was reminded of the project by a Facebook post. “It was always something that I wanted to enter but never really took advantage of the opportunity for one reason or another,” she explained. “I saw the post and decided that this was the year.”

Woshner admits that the application process for Artscape was “surprisingly easy.” She was required to complete an online form, write an artist statement, send a photo of her piece, and finally pay an entrance fee.

From April 19th to April 24th, Woshner’s watercolor painting will be on display at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester. Following that, the painting will be photographed and printed on a banner. This banner will be hung on a lamppost on the Old Town Walking Mall in downtown Winchester. It will be hung in July, and remain there for a year.

Woshner was very excited to hear the news that her work had been selected. “It has always been on my bucket list,” she said. Although she is thrilled to be accepted, Woshner admits that “I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to try and see what happened,” she said.

The painting titled “Grandpap’s Garden” took about three weeks for Woshner to complete. It was originally completed for a watercolor class she was taking in order to obtain her teaching license recertification. A big inspiration for Woshner’s painting was a picture she had taken a photo of chili peppers growing in her father-in-law’s garden. “The color and light of the peppers in the garden were what drew me to paint it,” said Woshner.

Some other art related activities that Woshner has participated in include paint nights as fundraisers and occasionally being hired to paint a pet or a family member. She says that she’d like to work as a professional artist once she retires from teaching and adds that date is far away. “Right now, my main art media are my students,” said Woshner. ”I mold and shape them into future artists.”

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Behind the Brush: young artist featured in Micro Gallery

Braydon Kelman | Guest Writer

Caption: Martin’s oil painting “Nirvana Illusion” is on display at the Brambleton Libraries Micro Gallery Exhibit.

Artist Sydney Martin is involved in the art program at Loudoun County High School. To those who know her this is no surprise, as the junior has been creating since sixth grade.

“At first I was obsessed with drawing eyes, and from there, faces,” Martin said.

Martin has been creating since she was 12 and has been making major improvements ever since.

“I first realized Sydney had a ton of potential way back in Art 1, when she drew an amazing pencil portrait of her favorite author,” Stephanie Woshner, Art Teacher and Artist said.

With five years under Marin’s belt she is still having a hard time knowing what theme and style fits her and represents her art best.

According to Woshner, art classes in ninth and tenth grade lean toward representational and realistic, where students are learning technique and developing a style. This year Martin has transitioned into a more surreal, abstract style which I LOVE,” Woshner said. “It is very unique and much her own.”

Woshner, Martin’s art teacher of three years, has seen Martin develop and learn multiple styles and themes. Woshner believes that Martin has a great amount of potential and has been a key factor in developing Marin’s love for art and for her own style.

“I strongly look up to El Greco and David Foster Wallace,” Martin said. “El greco’s dreamy realism has a quality of seamlessness which I hope to obtain one day. David Foster Wallace wrote with the detail I try to include in my paintings, and made familiar topics into deep and chaotic theories that cause the audience to think beyond the surface they are presented with.”

Martin’s passion for art and creativity has led her to think about her plans for the future.

“I have no certain colleges in mind for art, all I know is that a place that happens to be warm year round would help me stay motivated to create my best work.”

Martin hopes to make it big one day as an artist and hopes to be recognized and she wants to be able to sell her work to the world.

“In ten years I see myself making commissioned oil paintings with an atomic level of detail and mastery that I will have absorbed from my years at college majoring in fine arts/ painting!”

Woshner is ecstatic on watching how Martin does these next few years and is excited to make major progress and strives in college to be the best artist she can be.

“She is no longer timid or shy in her work,” Woshner said. “She is making her art for herself and no one else – that is a huge jump for an artist.”

“My goals with art is to develop a voice through my work, one that is perceived through interpretation but heard loudly by whomever the audience may be,” Martin said.

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