It was challenging shooting close up because the camera had a hard time focusing on the small details. I had to test out different angles, and how close I could be to the object/thing.

The items I picked were a candle, a coffee cup, and a book. I chose the book because I always read before bed--I find it comforting. I chose the coffee cup because I always drink coffee in the morning with my parents. I chose the candle because I feel like there’s usually a candle lit somewhere in my house and it feels reassuring to me.

This is a still life of my dad's record station. This contains all of his records, photo albums, and his record player. This is one of our favorite places in the house as music is very special to us. 🙂

The bag I got from my dad, who gave it to me; he'd had it for at least 12 years before he gave it to me. The doll peeking out of it I got from my grandpa when I was small, He passed a few years ago so it's very important to me. The mushroom in the little pocket of it is a plushie I made; my family goes mushroom hunting in the fall and spring.

This art piece shows three of my most valuable and loved objects. I have the first toy I was given by a friend of my family. Her name is Lamby and she is a stuffed lamb. Second, I have a picture of my best friend when she was in kindergarten, when we first met. Lastly, I have one of my sketchbooks because I love to draw.

I made this still life with the idea of family. The little book has photos and drawings of my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I don't get to see very often. The pumpkin was grown by me, my dad, and my sister in our side yard; it was the first pumpkin we ever grew in this house. And lastly the apple and the side table--my dad made the table and gave it to my mom right before I was born, and the apple shows that every year when my mom was little she and her family would go apple picking and they would make so many pies and cakes. We now do that too.

In this artwork Hope expresses her version of a still life that represents her family. In this still life there is a teddy bear, mask, succulent, and a camera. All of these objects are something close to her heart. The teddy bear represents her childhood and growing up with her brothers. The succulent represents her mom and her love of plants and art. The camera in the lap of the teddy bear represents her dad and his love for photography and his job. The last but definitely not the least item: a mask representing the world pandemic at the time that this was drawn.

The first item is an Xbox controller. I chose this because my best friend from my last school and I played a lot of video games together to help get over the boredom of being in the house 24/7. The second item is a book. It’s the book that I most recently read. I read a LOT of books over the summer. Everyday I read between 5 and 8 hours a day. The third item is a dvd book that has a dvd for a certain movie inside. I chose “Secret Life Of Pets” as the movie because it is a movie that my entire family loves to watch. My fourth object is a mask, just because of the coronavirus. My last object is a pencil container with pens and a ruler inside signifying my love for art.

I hate challenging myself, but I know I need to to improve my drawing skills. Challenges come with improvement and that’s why we do them. Objects are incredibly hard for me to draw, and drawing as an outlet probably isn’t one of the easiest things I could choose, but that's why I choose it.

Natalia's cultural objects still life drawing is inspired by makeup. Makeup can be very playful and expressive. It can be used for basic glam, but also allows for so many different ways to express oneself creatively.

The objects I chose as my still life are items that are common to Portland, they are part of the culture of Portland. I chose coffee because in Portland there are coffee shops on almost every corner whether its a Starbucks or an artisan coffee roaster, coffee is everywhere in Portland. The book represents all the readers in Portland and it also is part of my personal culture. I read, my parents read, and our friends read. Paint brushes are also part of my culture as well as the culture of Portland. My family and our group of people are all very artsy. Portland has a lot of art stores, for example BLICK or Columbia Art Supplies. With all these art stores it really provides artists with a way to make their art which expands Portland´s art culture.

A line that took a walk!

Mark making experiments!

I took this picture from the balcony of the hotel room in which I was staying. My mom grew up in Cannon Beach, so my family and I have gone to visit the town many times each year since before I was born. To this day it is our favorite vacation spot. I'm sad I won't get to see it much anymore since this is my last year before college, but I do know I'll find myself there again at some point in the future. That doesn't mean I can't miss it, though!

well i kind just looked at a wolf picture and started to draw it

Art can be anything it could be a tree it could be a bee it could be anything cause we are all pices of art and that is what makes unique.

This is a photo of the volcano and the landscape around it that Aiden made.

I learned about the Indonesian art of batik. When I created by own batik, it helped me to appreciate another person's culture.

“This is three people holding hands with beautiful trees and nature in the background. It represents community because it is showing people being together and holding hands peacefully, in a peaceful environment.”

Leo created this work after analyzing and interpreting art by Frida Kahlo. Third graders learned about symbolism, symmetry, and facial proportions as they created self-portraits from observation.

The hummingbird is standing. I worked hard on it.

Kindergarteners explore the basic elements of art throughout the year through a variety of art materials. With this painting, Molly experimented with using brushstrokes to create a variety of lines, and then she explored using primary colors to mix new colors. Wassily Kandinsky inspired this abstract painting.

I unintentionally created this piece as a symbol of our lives at this moment, in quarantine. Inside the light bulb lies a city of health, happiness, and prosperity, whose inhabitants live without a care in the world, free as birds. But we all know how easily the light bulb shatters, don’t we?

Using a paper cutout of a pig to frame my perspective image, I took the idea of a pig quite literally. Since we eat pigs, I chose to represent the pig with a cutting board and knife.

Spoofing a Van Gogh self-portrait, I did a collage of my dog Franki. I thought it was funny because they have the same colored beards! I call it "Fran Gogh" after the artist.

I drew this for a trading card project my sibling was doing at their school. My mom loved it so much, they made magnets out of them, and is going to try to do something similar with their friends that they don't get to see because of the quarantine.

In the lazy afternoon sun, objects are disguised among a street’s scenery.

Hi, I felt like making a piece that reflects one of my loves -- summer.

We were doing a color dust photo shoot in class. I thought this looked like a volcano eruption around the subjects head.

Students studied the art of graffiti in preparation for a collaborative street art project. They compared sanctioned street art to illegal graffiti and considered contemporary (Banksy) and historic examples (Lascaux Caves). They viewed and discussed the role local street artists are playing in transforming our city through the Portland Street Art Alliance. After practicing writing graffiti lettering techniques, students chose powerful words to design.

This drawing represents that I love the wilderness.

"I turn my mistakes into the best they can be. I'm happy for what I have. My work represents all the color and thought I put into my work." Using warm and cool tones, Juno created a chalk drawing inspired by the works of Georgia O'Keefe.

Since Covid, I finally realize how my indoor kitty feels. She stares out of the window all day hoping to catch a bird. Like us hoping to find some toilet paper.

While developing an understanding of geometric and organic shape, kindergarteners created collages in the style of contemporary artist, Pete Cromer.

I was inspired by all the rainbows that I kept seeing in my neighbors’ windows and decided I wanted to collage a rainbow.  It was also a card I made to send to my secret buddy in my LGBTQ+ camp.  I felt like a rainbow was a good message of hope to send them during this pandemic and as a message of queer pride represented by a rainbow flag , and besides, who doesn't like rainbows.

My mom and I love desert sunsets, so I decided to paint this for her so we can see the sunset together while we're home in quarantine.

My piece “Roses” was inspired by the tattoo style of art, just the bold lines and colors. I love flowers and drawing nature, and I was inspired by all the roses in my garden.

I created this bag with materials I already owned during quarantine, with the inspiration of my best friends personality in mind. The main part was first a random knitting project that I thought I could make more out of, and the tie dye handle is fabric from an old t-shirt that matched the color, and the fun side of my friend. The denim label was a scrap from a pair of jeans I cut into shorts. Crazy what you can do with materials you thought were junk!

For my Time Bridging Art piece I made a tunnel book. I chose to do it on a memory, the memory I chose was when I went to Depoe Bay with my parents and we we went whale watching.

After sharing a variety of art depicting volcanos and videos about Mt. St. Helens' eruption, students used the materials of their choice to capture the form, texture and feeling of a volcano.

This is my painting of a forest. I was inspired by my backyard which has lots of trees. To me the trees look sea green in color which is why I used a lot of green, yellow, and light blue in my painting.

In my artwork I like to mix the worlds of Realism and Cartooning using both colored pencil and blending markers.

Theme: Animal Hobbies I enjoy needle felting. The act of felting helps me relieve tension and I enjoy doing the small details both realistic and imaginary creatures. This is part of a series of rabbits I made wearing outfits, ranging from witch to gardening clothes.

This piece is dedicated to Suzanne Spaak, a courageous women who utilized her upper class status to save Jews during the holocaust. She is a figure who I admire very much.

In my artwork I like to mix the worlds of Realism and Cartooning using both colored pencil and blending markers.

In my artwork I like to mix the worlds of Realism and Cartooning using both colored pencil and blending markers.

I wanted my painting to be lively and thoughtful. The crossed pencils are the cross bones and they represent knowledge and the importance of education. The skull represents death, one of my worst fears. The crown on the skulls head represents respect for self and others. In the time of Basquiat if a graffiti artist liked someones art, they might put a crown on or beside the graffiti. This symbol meant that they liked and respected that art work and the artist who made the art. The word peace is done in a style similar to graffiti and in contrast to the background colors.

I had this wonderful flower in front of me and I knew that I like to draw still lifes so I used different pencils and shading tools to try and make the drawing as realistic as possible and I think it turned out really well.

I am a third grader at Rieke. I didn't think I would be selected, but it turned out, I was. That makes me happy, because I am kind of an inexperienced artist. I am glad that my artwork was admired.

In my artwork I like to mix the worlds of Realism and Cartooning using both colored pencil and blending markers.

Students observed volcanoes in art, and in documentaries. They thought carefully about the textures of a mountain and used rubbing plates to create mountain texture. They observed what happened in the sky during a volcanic eruption; smoke, ash, and debris. Then they studied how lava can move out of a crater and used paint to show that movement.

After observing volcanoes in art, then finding an inspiring image of a volcano, this student selected lines for debossing the image onto paper. He then chose colors to fill the spaces between lines and added details to make the composition complete.

Art students learned about the history of volcanoes in the northwest, including their indigenous names. Stories and photos were shared by the art teacher regarding her experiences living through May 18, 1980. Art students were shown the "Volcano!" slide show from the Portland Art Museum exhibit. Students then went to work creating a scene from Portland of Loowit erupting with an ash cloud. After outlining drawings with large sharpies, students used oil pastels to create rich deep colors.

This photo was taken on a drive I make quite frequently, Portland to Bend. The views along the way are breathtaking, and every time I make a few pit stops along the way to capture the beauty. This piece is one of my favorites I've gotten. Along the Hoodoo ski resort access road, you turn around and see a stunning view of Three Finger Jack.

This is a photo I took awhile back, I just loved the glow of the sunset on the mountain and the plane right on it. It is one of my most favorite photos I have ever taken.

Volcano erupting fire and lava!

Volcano erupting fire and lava!

Volcano erupting fire and lava!

Volcano erupting fire and lava!

We looked at volcanoes from the PAM exhibit for inspiration.

Art has no limit.

We looked at volcanoes from the PAM exhibit for inspiration.

I wanted to show the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and the dramatic effect of it, how it polluted the air and surrounding environment. I wanted to add in proper shading and show the size and mass of the volcano. I wanted to show how the ash and cinders came down while the magma came out.

I tried to capture to moment like three seconds after the eruption. I used orange, black and brown to show Mt. St. Helens and the ash and landslide and eruption. I showed how it came it came out of the mountain and the ash fell down.

We looked at images from the PAM exhibit for inspiration.

Smoldering Mountain was designed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mt St Helen’s, which occurred on May 18th1980. Students at Alliance High School/Reconnection Center (Benson Campus), worked with our community partner (Greg Hermens, Artist-in- Residence) to explore the fused glass medium. Students designed the piece to recreate the eruption through fused glass medium.

To kickoff this gallery, and to honor the 2020 HeART of Portland Showcase Poster Competition winners, we have included those students’ works as the opening feature of the virtual launch. The competition was a very crowded and impressive field of 61 submissions and the jurying went to two rounds. As award-winning entries, these pieces were selected because they capture the creative spirit and connect meaningfully to the museum’s exhibition, Volcano! Mt. St. Helens in Art. Congratulations to the student winners and their teachers!

"Forty years ago Mount St. Helens erupted, and its vibrations were felt throughout the region." To commemorate the anniversary of this significant event, art students created works of art using batik. The hot wax on fabric symbolized the volcano's searing temperature as the wax saturated selected areas of cloth.

This is a rendition of a volcano in my mind.

A rocky mountain filled with lava explodes into smiles.

I was inspired by Mount St. Helens eruption and we got to choose different supplies to make an art piece showing the eruption.

We looked at images from the PAM exhibition for inspiration for this project.

"While making these pieces I wanted them to emphasize the warm colors volcanoes tend to have. Along with emphasizing color I also wanted to add a person and/or animal to be emphasized within the volcano. I wanted to make my pieces seem like they told a story with the characters morphed with the volcanoes. During the thought process, I played around with a lot of fun drawings ideas, but I ended up choosing ideas that I thought were the best."

Students studied pointillism techniques and used the three primary colors. Students also learned to connect themselves with the natural environment by talking and sharing in class. We understand that disaster can happen at any time, and we as human beings will learn and prepare to face mother-nature together.

Quinton’s felt volcano came about when artists were given a ‘triangle’ challenge. We learned stitching, pattern making, and creative expression! Quinton’s unique take on the ‘Mt Hood is Good ‘ lesson rang awesome for the volcano submission! Besides the fact he is an amazing kid! Kind and focused and super hard working!

Students studied acrylic painting and some chose to make a volcano image for the PPS Poster contest, using this medium independently.