The walls of Lakewood High School were filled with color, sculpture, ceramics, sketchbooks and installations during this year’s senior art show. The art atrium was transformed into a gallery space lined with paintings, ceramic pieces and projects that reflected years of experimentation and growth. Every piece carries meaning and shows years of growth, experimentation and connection.

For many students, the show wasn’t just about displaying finished artwork. It was about showing the process behind it all. The brainstorming, revisions, practice sketches and countless hours spent refined ideas into something personal and meaningful.

According to art teacher Dayna Hansen, the event represents everything students have worked toward throughout high school.

“The senior art show is a culmination of all the seniors’ work from freshman year to senior year. Many of these students have taken art every single year, filled up their semesters, year-long classes, so they have work from electives and all the way to advanced and upper levels,” said Hansen.

Walking through the show, visitors could see that progression everywhere. Sketchbooks sat open on display tables, filled with thumbnail sketches, written reflections and project ideas that have evolved over time.

“Oh my gosh, it is a huge showcase of growth. A lot of it has to do with showing their sketchbooks and their work and progress and practice, and a lot of those are on display, along with their large-scale, some pieces as big as three feet by four feet, enormous installations,” said Hansen

Instead of only focusing on final projects, the show highlighted the artist’s creative journeys behind them. “ It really shows what they’re doing, not only from the beginning freshman year to now, but within even projects, from process to finished works of art,” said Hansen.

The artwork itself varied from student to student. Some seniors showcased ceramics collections built throughout elective courses, while others presented personal AP portfolios developed over the course of an entire year.

“Some seniors who are in upper levels in advanced classes are displaying a collection that they’ve developed over a course of a year through possibly AP sustained investigations, where they choose a topic or a subject that they feel strongly about and want to show that through their art making,” said Hansen.

The personal statements were really shown and could be felt throughout the room. Senior Lauren Lamparyk based her collection around childhood memories and nostalgia. “My overall theme was inspired by the idea of childhood and nostalgia, and what that kind of feels like, reminiscing,” said Lamparyk.

Her display combined bright colors, ceramics and playful imagery to capture the feeling of looking back on childhood experiences. The pieces reflected not only her artistic style but also memories and emotions connected to her own life.

“I think all my pieces reflect just the idea of nostalgia and bright colors and just my interest in painting and ceramics,” said Lamparyk.

“My favorite piece is probably my ceramic heart that I bedazzled. It took a long time, and it was really fun,” said Lamparyk.

Like many artists in the show, Lamparyk explained that her ideas became more personal as the year went on. “My ideas evolved kind of, I started off more broad in terms of nostalgia, and then I got more specific to my own experiences,” said Lamparyk

Ceramics student Lucy McDonald also stood out during the evening and received the Todd Urban Award for ceramics. “It was really fun and surprising, and going up on stage was very nice,” said McDonald.

Her display featured multiple wheel-thrown ceramics pieces that reflected countless hours of practice, patience and repetition. From carefully shaped forms to detailed finishing work, each piece showed the technical skill she developed over time.

“Honestly, a lot of pieces came from Pinterest, but also just lots of work and effort went into each and every one of them, and practicing and repetition of making them,” said McDonald.

According to Hansen, the collaborative environment inside the art department plays a major role in helping the students improve. “Our art department … we are so collaborative. Even just the setup of our classrooms, we all face each other,” said Hansen.

Throughout the year, students regularly move between classrooms to ask for advice, share materials and critique one another’s work. Teachers encourage collaboration and discussion, creating an atmosphere where students constantly learn from one another.

“We have students coming over from teacher to teacher to ask for suggestions, materials. So that is evident in just the classroom environment and the community that we’ve created, not only with students helping and sharing, but the teachers as well,” said Hansen.

Ceramics teacher Sophia Stasiak said that the support system is one of the reasons students are able to grow so much throughout high school. “I think support comes from, obviously, all of us teachers and just really breaking down their ideas, giving constant feedback every single day, making sure you’re there to even just go over different techniques,” said Stasiak.

Stasiak said the show allows students to physically see how much their work has evolved over the years. “I think the show reflects growth because students are allowed to bring in work, any artwork that they’ve done throughout the entire, you know, high school career. So even just seeing some of their artworks from last year compared to this year, to see their own growth and practice and their own artwork, I think it’s super rewarding,” said Stasiak.

This year also marked the first year of AP 3D Design at the school, something Stasiak said exceeded her expectations immediately. “I think I’m super proud of my AP, 3D kids. It’s a new course that we’ve started this year, and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better group. They definitely set the bar high,” said Stasiak.

For Hansen, however, one of the most meaningful accomplishments this year had nothing to do with grades, awards or finished projects. It was the relationships students built with one another throughout the year.

“This particular group of students, I’ve noticed a growth in connection and friendship. They started out very quiet, mild-mannered, and by the end of the year, I held a critique and I just heard all their voices from the quietest ones at the beginning of the year,” said Hansen.

She described a classroom environment where students uplift each other, collaborate constantly and genuinely celebrate one another’s successes. “I’m just really proud of just the community, the friendships that have developed between our AP and advanced classes, and they all uplift each other,” said Hansen.

For one night, the senior art show became more than just an exhibition. It became a celebration of creativity, friendship, growth and years of dedication. Through every sketchbook page, sculpture and installation, students showed not only how much they had improved as artists but also how much they had grown as people.

“These are just high schoolers. I think the level of art making and commitment is something that you would see an adult aspire to be,” said Hansen.