Over time, WHHS students are pushed in new directions; students begin to develop new skills, and are urged by teachers to keep working and improve. The art teachers encourage their students to enter their artwork in various shows. One such show is the City Wide Art Show.

“My art teacher, Ms. [Kim] Watling, came up to me while we were working on our portraits and asked me if I’d like to be featured in the show,” Madison Hochman, ‘18 said.

Kim Watling has taken the artwork of five of her students to be displayed in the City Wide Art Show.

“I think that it’s so cool that [it is] even a possibility that they offer that for students. Just to have that experience of other people that you don’t know looking at your work,” Maddie Heinlin, ‘19, said.

She feels like the experience of having her art on display is exciting and a nice experience.

“[I felt] nervous, especially since it’s my own artwork. Everyone critiques their own art the worst. So I’m nervous someone might point out that I made my nose slightly too big or the shading on the neck looks a little bit like a piece of bacon, but also I’m excited just because people [can] see how I create,” Hochman said.

When it comes to creating artwork, student artists have different perspectives on what motivates them.

“Nowadays kids are obsessed with aesthetics, things that are different. They wanna be different from everyone else because they’re thinking ‘if I do the same thing someone else does then that doesn’t make me different, so what would I be remembered for?’ So that inspires me to make artwork,” Loren Williams, ‘19, said.

Hochman has hopes of being involved with Artworks.

“It’s about Making Cincinnati Beautiful. Like all the murals you see on the buildings are done by Artworks. Basically, you compile of bunch of pieces that you’ve done with all the requirements and you send it to them to see if you’re qualified,” Hochman said.

Though it can be a worrisome process, Heinlin suggests that students should “stop worrying about things and just do what [they] want”.