Spooktacular Winner Speaks on Success

The Spooktacular is an annual art show where students put their artwork into a contest during the month of October; this work is then displayed in the art gallery. Students must find a sponsor, a teacher or guardian, willing to pay $20 for a place in the competition. Evelyn Heffernan is one of the winners of this year’s Spooktacular. She won the category “Best Horror” and received a cash prize. This freshman explained some of the challenges of completing and turning in this piece. 

The inspiration around this piece came from Heffernan’s interest in horror originally, but then developed into a more stylized design, focused on the unique ideas surrounding horror, and truly making a story within the confines of the paper. She described the style of this to be very sketchy and drab, or gray. “An aesthetic leading towards more unnerving qualities of a type of art, usually dark elements.” 

Try to take in as much inspiration as possible; encourage yourself to feel more creative and find a style that fits you.

Spooktacular award winner Evelyn Heffernan

One of the biggest challenges in this piece, according to Heffernan, is the amount of space she had to utilize, and the amount of time that was used to complete this assignment. 

Finally, Heffernan’s advice to any aspiring artist is as follows: “If you like something, if you like to implement something into your art, do it if you think it makes your art look more appealing.” She added, “try to take in as much inspiration as possible; encourage yourself to feel more creative and find a style that fits you.”