Meridian IB Art Show Highlights Students’ Learning, Creativity & Growth

Many proud family-members, friends, and curious viewers circulated with excitement amidst the alluring, captivating, and radiant artwork displays showcased in Meridian’s IB Art Show as it opened last Wednesday evening April 15 in the high school’s expansive lobby. 

“This week, our IB Art students are excited to share their creative work with the community,” FCCPS announced Wednesday morning. “The Art department invites you to attend the art show and experience the results of their dedication and growth over the years. Their pieces highlight how they have grown as Risk-takers, confidently exploring new techniques and expressing original ideas. We hope you can join us in celebrating their hard work and creativity.”

The Falls Church Independent attended the opening as we were curious to explore the students’ culminating exhibits, not only to appreciate their creative artworks and stories of growth, but to find out more about their experiences with the International Baccalaureate Programme’s pedagogical approach to the arts. 

We were impressed with the program’s student-centered, inter-disciplinary,  philosophically reflective, and research-based framework for fostering students’ arts skills and knowledge.

“I think it’s amazing,” IB Art and Photography teacher Sarah Gurgo told us before the show. “The students have worked really hard for a year, some for two years, getting all of their artwork ready. And I think it came out really great this year.”

“For IB Art, this show is just part of their requirement,” Gurgo said. “One of their other requirements is that they have to submit a whole portfolio of work showing that they’ve experimented with different 2D and 3D artwork, and lens-based. So that could be photography or it could also be digital art. And they submit that to IB as well.”

“So it’s all shipped off to Belgium?,” we asked mischievously. “Yes!,” Gurbo said with a laugh. 

Asked if the Art Department’s goal is to train students to continue studying in the arts after high school, Gurgo said, “Absolutely. If that’s their desire to, then yes, we get them set for going on to study more art after high school. And I would say, out of all of these students there are probably at least five that I know are going on to art school after graduation. But, a lot of others are just so talented and they want to be in this rigorous art course, but they’ll probably go on to study other things.”

With all the talk about STEM these days, we asked why studying the arts is important for students’ learning? “Well, in the arts there are a number of great things for a student’s development,” Gurgo said. “Number one, visual arts is a really difficult challenge for the brain, to actually come up with ideas creatively and authentically…. and to get your thoughts and ideas out visually so you can communicate to others visually. So, it’s kind of like working with both parts of the brain at the same time. So it’s a big challenge which a lot of people don’t think is the case.”

Not only does studying the arts enhance brain development, students are also improving their communication skills. “It’s a very student-based course, very student-driven,” Gurgo said. “So, they get a lot of choice in what they want to create and what they want to say in their art, so there’s a lot of freedom there. I think they like that as well because they have control over what they can do.”

Studying art intensively also appears to promote students’ mental health, Gurgo suggested. “It’s a great stress-reliever too. And it’s great for these students as well because they have such rigorous courses – I mean, IB Art class is not easy, but compared to the other classes where they have to take a lot of tests and everything, they just find this is an outlet for relieving stress.” 

The Meridian Art Department has also seen significant student growth as their pupils progress through their high school years. “A lot of these students I have in Art I and Art 2, started as freshmen,” Gurgo said, "so I’ve seen them coming in – and they’re very talented even as freshmen – but I’ve seen their growth and maturity and their thought process change. It’s really amazing.”

In college, Gurgo – who's from Pennsylvania and had "never heard of IB" until she came to Falls Church – studied graphic design. “I always loved the arts,” she said. “I always knew that I wanted to teach, but I was kind of talked out of teaching when I was in high school, but here I am. I came to where I’m supposed to be.” 

Meridian has been very dedicated to arts instruction, Gurgo emphasized. “They’re very supportive and encouraging for students to take any sort of art class we offer, visual arts, performing arts, and then, of course there’s design as well, that gets a little more into the design-and-build. But, absolutely, we’re very supportive.”

Soon, we chatted with senior and Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Lasso Rachel Grooms, as she stood before her collection of artworks. Asked how she felt about the exhibit, Grooms said, “It kind of just encapsulates everything I’ve done in the past two years in HL IB Art. It’s really cool to experiment with a lot of different mediums in the art class and this exhibition is a defining moment for where my art journey has gone. And I’ve had a different situation than a lot of other students in my art class…. I wasn’t able to fit art into my schedule because I wanted to take journalism as well, so I had to do IB Art just independently in a regular art class. So I didn’t get the same opportunity that I had last year to collaborate with a lot of other IB Art students, but I did still have an incredible year in the class, and got to work a lot more with my teacher directly because of that.”

“I really like different mixtures of collage and painting together,” Grooms said to describe her favorite medium. “I think I experimented a lot more with painting this year and that was kind of out of my comfort zone but it was really fun to do, so I enjoyed that.”

Is Grooms planning to pursue art as a career? “No, I don’t think I’m really planning on going into art or journalism,” she said. “I’m more interested in the sciences, but also combining writing with the sciences and more inter-disciplinary areas. I think a lot of why I wanted to do art is just because it’s kind of a challenge for me to be creative and to think more creatively. And I think it’s important in a lot of scientific fields to combine the disciplines of the humanities with the sciences and the technical sciences to make better institutions.”

But this doesn’t mean Grooms won’t pursue art and photography on the side after she graduates from high school. “I think I would maybe do them as a hobby,” she said. “And definitely photography is something I’ll keep up with my friends and in general. Also, small commission photography or photo journalism. And I love doodling and stuff like that, so I’ll keep up small things like that.”

Grooms was quite thoughtful in describing her artistic inspirations this year. “I think a lot of my inspiration comes from different street artists like Banksy and Stinkfish. Stinkfish is a little bit less known, but he does murals of ordinary people he takes [photos of] on the street and then he does spray paint stencil murals and it’s kind of like turning the everyday low art forms into higher forms that are more accessible to the public. And a lot of what I’ve been interested in is challenging the norms of what art can be and what we see as art, and making it more accessible to the general public. Like I did a mural over the summer at [restaurant] Borek-G’s, with Adi Rose [Henderson] and another student in my art class…. That’s just one thing I’m interested in, going outside the box of what you would traditionally think of as kind of challenging what a typical painting might be.”

“And then I also did a mural for the You Are Not Alone Mural Project in New York City, for suicide prevention,” Grooms added. “My mom’s friend wrote a book about it and she started the mural project and then I saw [the murals] around New York City and I was really interested in them. So I wanted to do one in my school as well. That was in my sophomore year and that was my personal project…. It was a cool experience.”

This year, Grooms selected themes pertinent to most college-bound students. “I think most of my exhibition is themed around pressures in school and pressures in life and society,” she said. “So I wanted to de-construct the board game ‘Life’ to kind of show that on a simpler level, each of the different levels and different pathways you go through, you get different struggles in your real life….”

Pointing to her painting “Okay,” Grooms said the work suggests the struggle between a person’s internal monologue and external expressions. “The inside of your head has all of your thoughts, but on the outside it’s just ‘I’m fine,’ and that shows the masking of what we project into reality versus how we actually are on the inside.” 

“And then I have a piece of photography [called “Home”] with a homeless man. He was playing catch with his dog. And I thought that was really cool to see a moment of love and care with the dog wearing a silly, unicorn, My Little Pony tutu. And I thought that was really a sweet moment where it’s kind of like a home inside, where maybe you don’t have a house, but there’s a lot of love there.”

We asked senior Ash Kosmider how she felt about exhibiting in the culminating show. “I’m quite happy because this is two years of work that have come together,” she said. “And it’s very nice to have it up because it’s up for the school to see as well and people I know, and teachers and stuff, who are all like, ‘Oh, I saw your work!,’ and it’s just nice that it’s been two years of work.”

“I really enjoy being able to do IB Art. What’s nice about it compared to a non-IB Art class is we’re allowed to do what we want,” Kosmider said. “Because usually art class is like teachers giving you directions specifically about what to do so you can learn how to do certain things. But this is like we just get to do what we’re interested in. There’s also a lot of writing which is a little bit scary. But it’s nice to be able to do what pieces I want to do.” For each display in the exhibition, students were required to post a deeply researched artistic statement to include their themes and historical inspirations.

Asked if all the writing requirements in IB Art helped her conceptualize her artwork, Kosmider replied “Some of it, definitely. Because IB is like when you do a project based on research you’ve done. And one of my projects is directly inspired by a painting I did research on…. ‘The Blueberry House’ [Points]. It’s based on ‘Haskell’s House’ by Edward Hopper. The first time I saw it, it reminded me of my grandparents’ house, and I thought, ‘Wow, it might be nice to paint my grandparents’ house in a similar style.’”

Kosmider is looking forward to studying in the sciences, focusing on astronomy, in college. For now, however, she’ll be joining other Meridian art students at their table at Saturday’s Falls Church Arts Day. 

Seniors and friends, Kira Pike and Adi Rose Henderson, mounted displays across from one another in the show. “It’s honestly really impressive and cool to see my friend put all this art together within just the short amount of time we’ve had,” Pike said, as she admired Henderson’s artworks. “It’s very fun,” Pike said about the show. “I almost didn’t go into IB Art, and I was going to stick with the regular program, but actually Adi was the one who convinced me to do it for my senior year. So, I was very excited to be able to put something together that had a running theme throughout.”

Asked what theme she chose for the show, Pike replied, “I would say fake merchandise. A lot of the pieces might also have other themes, like my identity, or things I find fun, but they’re all supposed to be based on album covers or movie posters or puzzle boxes and stuff like that.”

Pike described how her learning in other subject areas has informed her art. “In English this year we had a unit on album covers and analyzing how musical artists put together their [visuals], so I took inspiration from different things I learned in that unit and was able to [draw from what] I’ve learned in my classes that I think were interesting and that I wanted to delve into more. And a lot of my classmates in art have a lot about history or about social justice movements. But I’d say mine is a bit more self-indulgent in the fun side of things, rather than making any strong statements. But, it was very fun to put together.”

Pike is pleased she took SL IB Art this year. “I’m very happy,” she said about the experience. “Even though it did mean I had to put together way more work than otherwise, I think it’s definitely pushed me to expand my creative horizons.”

Nearby, Kira’s step-mom, Kathi Pike, described how inspiring Kira’s culminating display was to see. “It’s very inspiring seeing her artwork surrounded by her peers’ artwork and also how enthusiastically she explains her vision, and how she put everything together. I saw her at home working on all the pieces, so it’s great to see them all come together like this.” 

For Kathi Pike, IB Art is a great course for deepening students’ understanding of the world and of themselves. “I think it’s so healthy for students at this age to express emotions and to maybe express something they might not even truly understand or comprehend…,” she said. Sometimes students might not be aware of what they’re tapping into. “But it comes out of somewhere from within…. And you realize, there’s a deeper layer to this,’ – but I don’t know if they’re aware of it.’

The IB Art course “gives so much opportunity to express emotions and to look at what they want to talk about and what they want to present in the exhibitions and it’s also super challenging,” Ms. Pike said. “And it takes so much time and effort – and to balance it with all the other things they have to do in senior year is just really challenging. They’re doing a lot of research and just to see everyone persevering and finishing on time, it’s incredible. I don’t know how they even do it with all the stresses they have in senior year.”

Across the way, senior Adi Rose Henderson confirmed Pike’s information that Henderson had recently sold her first piece of art.... to the high school’s IB Diploma Coordinator. “He said his kids like bananas, so he wanted to buy the banana one…. It’s actually called ‘Finger Painting (yellow),’ but it’s like a Minion theme because there are bananas and he, [the painting’s main figure], is wearing goggles.”

Asked how it felt to sell her first work, Henderson deadpanned, “Cool. I like getting money. That’s always nice." Then she became animated as she humorously described in rapid-fire the bargaining that went down. "And we negotiated – I was like “$200,” and he was like “$50,” and I was like “$150,” and he was like “$126,” and I went ‘Deal!’ and then we shook on it!” 

Henderson, a High-Level IB Art student, was very pleased to see IB Art’s culminating exhibit. “It’s very cool. I love looking at all of their work and all of the colors and all the concepts. They’re very neat. Like, Kira’s work is also very good. They all have really creative ideas…. I’m glad I had enough space to put all my stuff up because there were so many pieces. But it’s cool to see it all out together.”

Henderson will be attending top-ranked VCU School of the Arts in the fall. Asked her preferred medium, she said, “I mostly do digital and acrylic painting. But I’m in ceramics class this year…. I very much like colors and people…. And I feel there’s a lot of story-telling you can do with people. And obviously I like colors. My hair was rainbow once upon a time. It’s really faded now. Kira’s actually going to re-dye it for me, which is awesome. But there are colors everywhere. There’s a whole set of things that are just in a rainbow…. My room at home – the walls are pink and the ceiling is rainbow. It’s awesome.”

Senior Sabrina Sakata’s mom, Brittany Sakata, nicely obliged to a chat near her daughter's showcase. “It’s so exciting to see what Sabrina’s been working on all year,” she said. “I get to see what’s coming home that isn’t yet up to her standards. But to see what she chose as her favorite pieces and what she chose as an artist is really, truly special…. To be able to apply her inspiration and to see how it comes out in her mind in a piece of ceramics is just really cool.” Describing herself as a “super-proud mom,” she said, “I mean, it’s just so exciting to see your kids do great things. But to do great and beautiful things is really lovely.”

Ms. Sakata has also been most pleased with Meridian’s IB Art curriculum. “It’s amazing,” she said. “And it really looks to support each student and their individual talent. And to have that outlet in an otherwise stressful academic schedule is just such a gift to each of the students…. I think the importance of art in students’ lives is when you look at how challenging the workload is for kids these days, to have that opportunity and to have that creative outlet and to have that so well supported by the school system just makes you feel really good about being here and being involved with this area of the school.”

Though senior Sabrina Sakata is primarily a ceramicist, she displayed all her required multimedia for her IB Art course, including charcoal sketches, paints, collage, fabrics, and ceramics. “The ceramics took me a lot of time though, because I had to throw the bowls on the wheel and then I would hand-shape the leaves and all the flowers. And then I had to wait for those to dry so I could adhere them,” she said, as she pointed to her display case of intricately designed ceramic bowls, some taking many months to complete. “On that one [points to delicate leafing], I had to keep it thin so it wouldn’t fall off, but if it’s too thick then it will fall off – like either way. [Laughs].”

Sabrina dedicated her charcoal drawings to her mom. “I was really inspired by Georgia O’Keefe for both of the charcoal pieces,” she said. “Most of these pieces were inspired by Georgia O’Keefe and also Kurt Schwitters. He does collages. So, the wild textures collage is inspired by him. And then I also looked at Chala Toprak and she’s a newer artist who does ceramics. And she does more flowing leaf designs like [Sabrina’s] ‘Michael’s Blue Garden’ and ‘Green Bloom.’” To her father, Sabrina dedicated ‘Michael’s Blue Garden,’ as his favorite color is blue.

For Sabrina, the IB Arts program’s emphasis on research-based works has been positive to experience. “I feel like it integrates research really well. I had [enough] time to research the artists before I decided to do them. And I also feel like in art it’s a lot about choice and what you want to do with it. So I felt, especially in Ms. Gurgo’s class, I had a lot of choice in what I wanted to do. I didn’t have to adhere to just one specific project. And she was still accommodating with me doing a ceramic artist, because a lot of the class does more painting. So it was really nice to just have her input on my ceramic sculptures.” And the ceramics teacher Ms. Leigh was most helpful as well. 

For college, at Miami University in Ohio, Sabrina Sakata is considering a minor in ceramics while majoring in business. “I’m really excited,” she said. “And the ceramics program at the university is really good. I saw the program and it has a really big space. So I’m excited to experiment with that.”

About the overall exhibit, Sabrina expressed joy. “I feel like it’s really nice to see what everybody else has done because it’s not everyday you get to see everything they’re working on and to hear about it," she said. “Ms. Gorbo is a great teacher. I feel like she’s really inspiring. And she gave me a ton of great advice on how to proceed with a million things.”

Moments from the Show

Apologies for unidentified or mis-identified artworks or photos of details....

By Christopher Jones