Sophomore Marly Schafer fostered a love for art in elementary school; the student recalls her mother consistently drawing during her childhood, which influenced her growth into art. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Schafer took every opportunity to educate herself on the subject by attending each art class offered in her school curriculum. Beginning high school, Schafer joined the National Art Honors Society (NAHS) and contributed to dozens of projects, including painting NC’s windows and creating images with inspirational quotes to display around the school.
Schafer’s current inspiration comes from the music she listens to, as she creates pieces reflecting the style and imagery of her taste. Her artistic projects focus on her favorite artists, such as HIM and Slipknot, in addition to various Nu Metal bands. Schafer’s artistic process begins with brainstorming, then she derives her inspiration for specific pieces using Pinterest. Her art mainly exists on paper and she uses graphite as her primary medium; however, she does partake in other mediums such as gouache, watercolor, colored pencil and ceramics.
In middle school, Schafer met a considerable supporter of her art, Tyler Gill, an Awtrey Middle School art teacher who also ran Awtrey’s Art Club, which Schafer attended. Schafer’s art passion and skills only grew as she pushed herself to experiment with unfamiliar mediums and reach new levels with the help of Mr. Gill.
“Mr. Gill definitely contributed a lot, he always supported me. I have weird ideas and he always supported me with them, pushing me to keep going and giving me ways to express myself and my interests. He always told me we have a very similar art style, even though I’ve never really seen his work. He would think that the art I made was the coolest thing ever,” Schafer said.
Schafer’s success in her beginner art classes and her openness to new work built up Schafer’s reputation as a reliable artist. Her distinctness and unique outlook led her to new opportunities as Therome James, an Awtrey middle school science teacher, asked her to paint a mural for his classroom. Over the course of a few weeks, Schafer painted a landscape portrait of mountains and beautiful scenery, which remains untouched to this day. Her projects reflect important topics such as mental health, and she uses a variation of styles and themes to get her positive and unique messages across.
“I would describe her art as morbidly beautiful, she uses taboo topics such as suicide and murder and presents them in an eloquent and tasteful way. She’s amazing at switching her style for whatever piece she is currently working on, she’ll make something shockingly gruesome and then turn around and make something that warms your heart. Her art style is amazingly unique, when you see one of her pieces, you’ll know she made it without being directly told because it all comes from a place of care and love for her craft. But that doesn’t mean her art is all the same, it’s all different in small ways that make a big difference when they’re all added up,” sophomore Ronin Corry said.
Schafer shares her art not only by physically displaying it but also on social media. She spreads her work on Instagram and Snapchat, often highlighting the songs that inspired the pieces. As Schafer considers her future, she plans to attend an art-based university and receive the education necessary to become a tattoo artist, allowing her to earn a profit from her passion and leave her mark on the world.
