Taylor- an Artistic Pursuit

  Xerri’s Creative Streak is on the Move

  Christina Farkas

  News Co-Editor

   Your mind-you can say-is in artist’s block  

   Your pencil taps as your imagination is attempting to discover  

     You scan the room only hoping for inspiration to hit  

   Then a hit of adrenaline overwhelms your senses  

   It seems now-the idea has hit you  

   Your hands grab the edge of a crisp, blank sheet of sketch paper  

   All you can do now- is sketch  

  Pencil shavings flutter to the floor. Eraser residue litters your table  

  But it does not bother you, for a masterpiece is currently in progress.  

   Every morning junior Taylor Xerri awakens to a new day as every student does. But Xerri sees the morning as the greatest start to her day, because she has Drawing 2.   

   “It’s one of the classes I can look forward to everyday, because I don’t have to stress out for the other classes I really need to concentrate in,” said Xerri. When paint or charcoal covers her hands, she can’t think of being in any better place.  

   Ms. Belf, the art teacher, has impacted Xerri as well as many other students through her few years at Richmond High School. “As soon I had my very first drawing class she was the one who helped me through it all. Step by step,” said Xerri.  

   “Taylor is accepting of criticism, because she truly wants to get better and learn.  She attacks each assignment with the drive to be better than anyone else in the class for that particular assignment.  She is not afraid to ask for help and wants to learn everything she can about each medium [art supplies] that we use.  She’s a talented artist, but it is not just a "gift", she has gotten where she is, like most successful people, through hard work and discovery,” said Ms. Belf.  

   As Xerri sits herself down to a piece every day, she not only has her own self-motivation but the motivation of her superiors and friends. It places her in a zone of inspiration which she puts into her art.  

    A majority of the time Xerri uses a pencil or colored pencil to develop the art she makes. “I have around 4 sketch books that are lying around,” said Xerri. “Whenever an idea comes to my head, I’m lucky enough to be able and draw it out.” 

   In the beginning, it all seemed to have started with a few drawings she has drawn as a little girl. Her mother had collected her art in a little cozy, but whenever Xerri had seen it she felt inspired to keep on going with an artist’s dream.  

    “I was always, just drawing,” said Xerri. “When mom showed me the box, I remember everything rocketing from there.”  

   Xerri has many artistic members in her family tree that motivate her to keep on doing what she really loves to do. Her uncle was an art student who currently continues in the field, her aunt crochets, and her father’s grandfather is a painter.   

   “Art is something that is highly unappreciated, especially in school,” said Xerri. “But I am not scared to pursue what I love, and the people in my life motivate me to do so.”  

   On the other side of drawing and painting, Xerri enjoys dabbling in photography. She has a personal camera that she got for Christmas last year that she uses very often to capture picture perfect moments.  

   “That was the one gift I was really wishing for,” said Xerri. “I was so happy when I saw what I had received, and knew then I had another spark to influence me.” 

   Xerri is happy to have the chance to snap a shot, at any moment and any time. She believes we were born in time where we are lucky enough to see technology evolve, and we should take every chance to use it.  

   Every year, new models of high-tech modules are created. “You don’t need to buy the most expensive camera out there. But we all have the chance to hold on to anything from a Polaroid, just to grasp onto a fond memory,” said Xerri. 

   One of Xerri’s friends must have seen her vision, as she had hired her to take her senior photos. It came as a surprise, and she was nervous. But, she had the intent of making her friend happy.  

   When the day came to do the photos, she sat with her client and described the vision that they both saw would work best. The rest of the day was full of angles, lighting, and ‘modeling.’  

   Everything was eventually developed, and sent out. “She really loved them, and I’m glad I could make my friend happy with those forever lasting type of photos,” said Xerri.