Beginning her art journey as soon as she could hold a pencil, senior Zachary Ray Cooper recalls creating art in Pre-K. Throughout her childhood, Cooper spent a large portion of her time with her grandmother, Lynn Marie Dwyer. Dwyer served as a prominent figure in Cooper’s art journey, as Dwyer owns the ceramics company More than Mudpies and creates pottery work for a living. These experiences of shared time, though seemingly insignificant as Cooper simply observed her grandmother while she worked, influenced Cooper’s passion for art.
Dwyer strongly contributed to Cooper’s art style, unlike any other artist. Cooper recalls how, originally, her grandmother created her art pieces, which allowed Cooper to free herself from the restraints of expectation and fully embody the artistic spirit by following her emotions while working. Following in her grandmother’s footsteps, Cooper enjoys working with ceramics, even stating that a unique and distinctive project involved fake moss and a wooden frame to create a bowl-like structure.
“I definitely feel like art has an impact on the world, it’s used so much so even in just like graphic design and fancy letters. It really is just what catches people’s attention, so I think it is very important. My message would be that art is fluid and that it doesn’t have to look a certain way and that you can create whatever you want to, you know, you have free will, express it,” Cooper said.
Although all media contain their pros, Cooper specifically feels drawn towards colorful acrylic paintings. When Cooper uses acrylics to paint people, she focuses on details and pays special attention to the fashion choices her characters present. However, Cooper also particularly enjoys drawing and painting animals such as fish and mammals, and one of her favorite paintings represents a moose on a 24 x 24-inch canvas.
Outside of painting, Cooper keeps up with her creative senses by crafting, crocheting, sewing embroidery and sewing clothing. In addition, Cooper manages an Instagram profile that she calls her digital portfolio, through which she consistently updates her followers with new art pieces to present her progress, show off her artistic skills and easily access her prior works when needed.
Throughout her high school experience, Cooper has taken courses in visual art composition, drawing and painting, ceramics and currently, Advanced Placement (AP) Art and Design. Outside of school hours, she remains busy in the artistic realm of her abilities, currently working on a painting with her friend, which they began during their freshman year. The painting resembles a nature morte with an array of flowers and a deer skull, combining both the nature-like elements Cooper loves to incorporate into her art and her admiration of animals. Cooper’s dream project, a mural of a crow or a similar animal, continues those themes, which would share the essence of her alternative style and underline her love of animals again.
After high school, Cooper plans to continue her education in college or a university, even though she currently remains uncommitted. Majoring in psychology, Cooper plans to casually continue art as a hobby, instead of a full-time career. Cooper may potentially combine both of her interests into one path and become an expert in art therapy, though she holds psychology as a priority over her love of art. If Cooper does not obtain a minor degree in art, she can see herself selling prints on the side to still profit from her artwork.
“Art therapy is kind of an expressive way of doing creative crafts while also getting advice. It is a psychodynamic approach where you’re kind of expressing your feelings on paper. I make art sometimes to get my feelings out, but a lot of times it’s just [because] I have an idea and I need to put it down,” Cooper said.
