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The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

Picking up her paintbrush, senior Claire Hardy works on her next piece for AP Drawing. Hardy centered all of her projects on one sustained investigation question: "What impact do people have on me?" “We get to choose our topic and the materials we use which is nice because you can make the piece more personal,” Hardy said. “While the freedom of this class is great, it [also] poses a challenge because the options are endless when starting a new project”.

Photo of the Week – Jan.25

Maddy Truka, Social Media Manager + Video Editor January 29, 2021

Junior Anna Knott finishes up the drawing of the leg lamp from the 1983 movie, “A Christmas Story.” Knott and her mom worked together to be able to create fun and relatable drawings. “A lot of people were commenting on our art and often had suggestions which made it so much more fun,” Knott said.

Diving into junior Anna Knott’s world of chalk art

Bri Davis, Staff Writer January 14, 2021

When we think of art, we naturally think of painting, drawing and sketching. But have we ever thought about chalk art? Junior Anna Knott and her mom did as they searched for something to do during quarantine. “My...

Coloring a portrait, freshman Rachel Thomson sits at her desk. Thomson’s mother, an artist, is her biggest influence. “She’s encouraged me to keep going from the beginning. I wasn’t that good when I first started, but I’m lucky she encouraged me to keep at it. I think if she didn’t support me, I would have stopped drawing a long time ago,” Thomson said.

Freshman artist Rachel Thomson illustrates change

Emily Early, Editor-in-Chief January 11, 2021

Starting with a rough sketch of her subject, freshman Rachel Thomson moves to coloring each facial feature and finishing with the background illustration of the drawing. Thomson has been creating colored...

Using Procreate 5X, senior Rebecca Vierck demonstrates how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social anxiety can make someone feel like being watched. Vierck’s piece conveyed the alienation felt from their peers. “A lot of media representation about ADHD is built upon stereotypes. Because of the comorbidity of my ADHD and social anxiety, I tend to feel anxious to stim in front of people in fears of seeming weird,” Vierck said. “I've had to cut off friends because of their disrespect for my sensory triggers. As a child, I would have multiple breakdowns a week over the texture of dinners that I was made to eat.”

Students showcase their ‘draw dropping’ artwork

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief November 6, 2020

Through a combination of mediums, students from Katy Mangrich’s AP 2D Art and Design class, Ashley Drissell’s Design Arts class and Kat Briggs’ AP Drawing class made pieces that investigate cultural...

Senior section leader Abbey Thompson directs the low brass at practice. She remains socially distant and masked. “I always struggled to find motivation to get into a practice routine but with all the extra time with quarantine I was able to dedicate real time to practice. I saw a pretty big improvement not only in my sound but also my confidence as a musician,” Thompson said.

PIVOT: Arts education in action

Arden Dickson, Staff Writer October 27, 2020

I had my first dance recital when I was five years old. My mother likes to remind me that she thought I had the best costume: a black and white tulle dress, pink bows on my tap shoes and a feather in my...

Sitting in her bedroom, junior Zoe DeYoung writes in her notebook while in quarantine. DeYoung won first place in the Senior Poetry Division of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s “Express the Music” writing competition. “The poem was so different from everything I’d ever written before,” DeYoung said. “It made me proud of taking that leap and writing something like that.”

Junior Zoe DeYoung wins St. Louis Symphony Orchestra “Express the Music” Senior Poetry Division

Lydia Roseman, News and Sports Editor May 11, 2020

Out of 2000 participants, 476 submissions and 47 finalists, junior Zoe DeYoung won first place in the Senior Poetry Division of “Express the Music.” Express the Music is an annual writing competition...

Sister of senior Madi Foppe, Kennedy Foppe, tapes paper hearts to her window to form a rainbow of hearts. She came up with the idea after seeing people share rainbows and wanted to incorporate hearts to represent love and kindness for healthcare and essential workers. “We enjoy [art] but we don’t get to do it a lot. During quarantine we have definitely gotten to do more,” M. Foppe said. “We had an idea to create a rainbow of hope out of hearts to spread hope and love during these uncertain times.”

Photo of the week – April 27

Fatema Rehmani, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief April 30, 2020

Searching for the piece of art that she will respond to, Creative Writing student and senior Allainah Crawford looks at works from the AP Design and Photography class. “This project is ‘free range’ compared to some of the other ones,” English teacher Dan Barnes said. “With express the music, we have word count, [but] with this one, I just want my students to be inspired by art.”

Art responding to art: Creative Writing 2 and the art department’s curriculum collaboration

Zoe DeYoung, Staff Writer February 4, 2020

Ekphrasis—better described as art responding to art—is a practice that English teacher Dan Barnes knows well.  When Honors English 3 was offered as a class, Barnes taught ekphrastic response, having...

Looking into the camera, junior Caroline Judd stands with some of the equipment she uses in her photoshoots. Judd prefers to shoot outside in natural lighting rather than indoors with flash photography. “Natural lighting fits well with the photography that I envision,” Judd said. “Natural lighting makes editing my photos much easier because it allows me to play with the colors.”

Junior Caroline Judd gets a head start on arts focused career

Lydia Roseman, News and Sports Editor February 13, 2019

What kind of art do you create? “I am very passionate about photography and videography. I started out doing classic art like drawing and painting, but I discovered my love for photography when I...

Strumming his guitar and singing into the microphone, junior Ryan Egan performs with his band The Brink STL at last year’s benefit concert. Egan has been playing concerts in the St. Louis area for four years. “I love performing,” Egan said. “It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy playing in front of a crowd and just playing music in general. I hope to release some music so that I can spread my messages of positivity, perseverance and dedication.”

Junior Ryan Egan uses STEM courses to pursue a career in music

Lydia Roseman, News and Sports Editor January 23, 2019

What kind of art are you interested in? I play in a band called The Brink STL. I’ve been playing guitar for eight years, and I’ve been playing gigs and concerts around St. Louis for the past four...