GHS 2025 ART SHOW
GHS 2025 ART SHOW
Pictured: GHS Architecture teacher Aaron Ruiz and Ceramics teacher Thom Cruz
At Glendora High School, the arts are taken seriously. With various pathways including architecture, photography, graphic design, theater, drawing, and ceramics, the art department is filled with intentional, creative educators who continue to foster a creative drive in young Tartans. In recent years, those educators had pitched in to showcase their students’ talents and progress with an exquisite gallery. Enter the GHS Art Show. The gallery walk through provides a complete experience: offering light snacks (curtesy of the Culinary Arts classes), ceramic pieces on box stools, architectural wonders built out of wood and staples, and paintings leaving no wall in Mr. Cruz’s ceramics classroom blank. Below, we feature four artists’ pieces exhibited at the gallery.
Ronan Sweatmon
“Pomegranate,” & Untitled
At first glance, Sweatmon’s two of multiple pieces showcased at the showing couldn’t be more different– a dramatic oil portrait of a seated man and a vibrant ceramic pomegranate. But both are united by the artist’s love for detail and willingness to push creative boundaries.
The painting began as a classroom assignment, but Ronan chose the model and pose with clear intent. “It was the most interesting to me,” he explained. “It looked very dramatic.”
Although oil paint was a new medium, Sweatmon leaned into the challenge. “I ran into a lot of bumps. I focused too much on the small details, especially the hands and feet. But once I let go of the idea that it had to be perfect, it was smooth sailing.” To contrast, the ceramic piece Pomegranate was more self driven. “I’ve always loved pomegranates– the way you separate the seeds out of the fruit and separating them from the white membrane in a bowl of water.”
While both works reflect real-life subjects, they resist replication. “I try to make things as realistic as possible without copying exactly. I still want my pieces to be unique to me.”
Together, the portrait and the pomegranate showcase an artist unafraid to experiment, yet always rooted in precision, process, and personal touch.
Alexandria Ingersoll
“Driving Through the Sunset”
“I just loved the look of a road surrounded by nature leading to who knows where.”
Alexandria Ingersoll, a senior in teacher Thom Cruz’s Advanced Ceramics class, was assigned to make a 12-inch square tile with layers. With this in mind, Ingersoll turned to a favorite platform for many teens to find creative inspiration- the world of Pinterest. As a social media platform, Pinterest is a simplistic way for people to simply upload their favorite photos for others to enjoy, without the drama and controversy found within Facebook or Instagram.
Ingersoll’s piece is intentionally imperfect, as no part of nature is intrinsically perfect. “I blended multiple colors randomly to purposely make it a little messy and waited to see what it would look like when it came out of the kiln. It was a surprise for me when I saw it, too.”
This project also carries a quiet tribute. Alexandria’s love for ceramics is rooted in memories of her grandfather, who had a colorful ceramics shed in his backyard. “I would always be out there watching him create amazing stuff out of clay,” she recalls.
Like the road in her tile, Driving Through the Sunset invites viewers to journey into the unknown, letting color, texture, and emotion guide the way.
Brooklynne’s ceramic piece immediately draws you in with its vibrant coral reds, oceanic textures, and playful pops of color– something straight out of Bikini Bottom. But the inspiration behind this whimsical undersea pot? Once again, another scroll through social media platform Pinterest. “I saw something similar and thought, ‘might as well turn it into a pot.’”
Though Traficante explores various artistic styles, her foundation is in realism– she’s even constructed a life-sized cake and sandwich for the gallery. This pot takes a different approach- a more stylized, imaginative one. “Last year i made a plate with an under-the-sea theme, so I think that stuck with me and pushed me to do something like this again,” she explains. While references like Pinterest play a role in sparking ideas, her process always includes her own twist.
The colorwork on this piece is especially eye-catching, and entirely intentional. “We don’t have that many glazes in class, so I had to make a lot of colors myself. I even used a crystal glaze to get that rainbow effect on one part.” The result? A textured, layered piece that’s part fantasy reef, part ceramic experiment- but entirely Brooklynne.
What first carries you away into Shea's portrait isn't exactly the subject—its the shadow. The dramatic high-contrast lighting makes big statements, casting much of the subject's hair and background into dark shadow. "When I was hunting for reference, the light in this one particularly caught my eye.” It was the perfect reference for a gouache portrait she had to complete for her AP portfolio.
Gouache was new to her at that time, but here we can observe how quickly she got up to speed. "While working I got a lot more accustomed to it," she states. The painting leans into gouache's natural advantages as a medium—flat, opaque colors and sharp edges. Instead of attempting to get soft blendage, Valle used defined zones of color to define the subject's face and shirt.
Her dramatic lighting and vibrant color are only part of her strengths. Throughout her work, from colored pencils and pens to printmaking and markers, Valle is attracted to portraits that explore mood and form. With references, especially when establishing likenesses. "If the likeness is not good, I will start over," she admits. Once the groundwork is laid, she keeps "the references in the background and experiment with different styles and color schemes” to make it her own.
"The best work I do are paintings with bad light that yield flat planes of color," Valle explained. "That's exactly what I saw in this reference, and why I knew I had to paint it."
Curious about what Glendora Together’s Sanvi Rao is talking with art teacher Mr. Burgan? Check out her article on creativity in art:
