While many use art as an outlet for informal expression or as a form of relaxation, senior AP Art student Eleanor Henrich uses it as a way to communicate with people, believing that art is the physical representation of an artist’s soul. She has always been creative, as an artist her whole life, but it was not until high school that she developed technical skills along with her creative ones. When asked about her goal for her art, she said, “Especially in my concentration, I want people to question. I’m telling the stories of objects that people see everyday, but I want people to wonder how things got to where they are and where they are going to be.”

Eleanor grew up surrounded by art. Her main inspiration comes from her grandmother, who is a china painter and suffers from arthritis in her hands. This was an obstacle for her grandmother, but her love of art pushed her to continue. Eleanor’s concentration, demonstrating how objects are created and abandoned, also stemmed from experiences with her family. “I live in a 200- year-old house and my parents used to bring me to antique malls as a child. I’ve always been surrounded by old objects that have significance because of their age.” Through her art, Eleanor explores the questions, “What happened to objects that were not given the chance to be antiques? How and why were they forgotten?”

She uses color to portray time, using pastel and charcoal to differentiate between time periods. Eleanor’s versatile perspective of her environment helps influence new ideas for pieces. She looks around her house or other old buildings to find objects with interesting compositions. Eleanor creates on the go; her favorite medium is drawing because she only needs a few materials. “While there are many different mediums in drawing, all you really need is a pencil and paper. I have made art on an airplane with a pencil, a notepad, and cold tea,” Eleanor commented.

As an incredibly busy Hackley student, Eleanor has often struggled to find time to balance art, schoolwork and other activities into her schedule. As a night owl, however, staying up late has not been much of a problem for her. In fact, the relationship between a hectic school schedule and a peaceful zone to create art has manifested itself in her work. “When I am creating art, I love this odd combination of stillness and chaos. I do the majority of my work when I am alone late at night. The silence that comes at 2 o’clock in the morning helps me focus. In this silence, I love creating chaos. I blast heavy metal; I use a lot of pastels in my work and it ends up everywhere: my hands, my face, my clothes, my work table,” she said.

Eleanor uses art to escape her schoolwork, where there are correct answers and set interpretations. In her art she finds an escape, where there are no lines, “only colors and shades coming against each other to create distinction. It is freeing to not have to be in a world of black and white,” she commented.

Eleanor wants to continue exploring art, with plans to major in Studio Art and Psychology in college.