"Ouroboros," Jude Fesperman.

Imagine being  a young adult in today’s world, with its incomparable challenges and innumerable possibilities. Students in Steamboat Springs High School’s Advanced Placement art classes express their points of viewt hrough their fresh, bold artwork.

Jude Fesperman

“My central theme in my AP Studio Art class is how addiction changes and affects a person,” Jude Fesperman explains. “I wanted to create very colorful, chaotic art and be able to use some of the experiences of my life. I love mixing all kinds of media and experimenting with new processes, and I feel like these two pieces capture that.”

“The idea behind this piece [pictured above] was that the snake represents a long, tangled, and endless cycle. The snake itself was inspired by the Hairy Bush Viper, which is a very surreal, intimidating-looking snake that resembles a dragon.”

 "Dyspnea," Jude Fesperman.

“This piece was my first abstract painting and I fell in love with the process of abstraction while working on it,” Jude says. “The painting is inspired by withdrawals. The background is extremely chaotic and shaky, to show the discomfort of withdrawals. The lines are random and shaky, inspired by inconsistent breathing and anxiety.”

Gracie Piret

 "Globophobia," Gracie Piret.

Gracie Piret's photos are from her AP Photography class and are meant to represent different phobias. This one represents the fear of balloons.

 "The Puppet and the Puppet Master," Gracie Piret.

“I wanted to photograph something outside of the cliché prompts like ‘home’ or ‘small town,’ and I had always been rather fond of using art to evoke unease,” Gracie says. “The concept of phobias interested me, not only because I could establish that sense of unease, but I also could challenge myself as I attempted to pair many unusual elements together within a photograph.”

Carsen Kortas

 Untitled.

Carsen Kortas is a junior at Steamboat Spings High School and Yampa Valley High School. Her portfolio was guided by an inquiry or question, and this year she chose to focus on the concept of “coming out of your shell.” “I’ve always been pretty reserved and shy, but I want to work on growth and being bold, so this has been a very fun and experimental guiding idea,” Carsen says.

 Untitled.

“These are some of my favorite pieces I’ve done this year because they feel like me,” Carsen says, “and they show how much I’ve grown in skill since just last year.”