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Coventry 10th-grader presents 'Nature Reimagined' art series to school committee
Summary
Grace Hillebrand, a tenth-grade Coventry High School student, presented a portfolio titled "Nature Reimagined," described her six-step creative process and noted several pieces that contributed to her receiving the Patricia Edwards scholarship.
Grace Hillebrand, a tenth-grade student at Coventry High School, presented a portfolio titled "Nature Reimagined" to the Coventry School Committee during its May 8 meeting and described her six-step creative process, materials and awards.
Hillebrand said she begins by gathering ideas from her surroundings, emotions and other artworks, refines concepts into sketches, researches compositions and color palettes, creates the work, critiques and revises it, and then documents and shares finished pieces. "Every process of art that I have, all of my artworks, they follow, like, a basic 6 step process," Hillebrand said.
Hillebrand walked the committee through multiple pieces and the media she used: water-soluble oil paint, oil paint, mixed media (ink, watercolor, chalk pastel, pen and marker), charcoal pencils and sticks, oil pastel, colored pencil, acrylic and white-out as a layering tool. She said larger pieces typically require 20 to 50 hours of work; she estimated the floral painting shown took about 40 hours.
Several works Hillebrand displayed helped her earn the Patricia Edwards scholarship; she also said a mixed-media piece titled "Unified Kingdom" was donated in honor of Coventry High School and is "now permanently installed" at a location she identified during the presentation. Hillebrand brought one of her principal scholarship pieces to the meeting and said she has completed commissions for school staff and gifts for friends and family.
Committee members praised Hillebrand's technical range and thoughtful process. "I never realized there were so many different media that you could use," said a committee member, noting how mixing media affects the visual impact. Superintendent Coward complimented Hillebrand's vocabulary and writing, and highlighted the time and dedication required to produce the portfolio.
Hillebrand thanked her teacher, Mrs. Allard, for ongoing critique and support. The committee did not take any formal action on the presentation; members encouraged Hillebrand to continue exhibiting and submitting work to statewide opportunities such as Scholastic recognition programs when appropriate.
The presentation occurred during the agenda item listed as a student recognition/presentation at the May 8 meeting and concluded before the committee moved on to infrastructure and policy items.
