Featured Artist: Erika Mekler

Who is Erika Mekler?

Erika is a part of the Art 4 class at OA. She is a senior and is passionate about preventing ocean pollution. Erika loves to eat pizza and ice cream. Her favorite medium is drawing pencils.

What does Erika like?

Food: Pizza Dessert: Ice Cream Song: Harry Styles, “Sign of the Times” Artist: Ai Weiwei Book: Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None

Artwork

Note from the Artist:

My self portrait “Dark Transparency” is one of my favorite pieces I have created so far. Portrait’s can be extremely tricky because one small mistake and it will look like a whole other person. This took a lot of patience making sure it was accurate and precise to my own face, but one of my most rewarding pieces.

Next, “Dahlia Pinnata Formal” was our first project this year. Working with pen, I used both stipple and hatching to achieve the texture. Botanical art is required to be extremely accurate in order to document and preserve plant species.

Lastly, “Roots” is a surreal self portrait with symbols that represent a few things that are important to me. Incorporated, and slightly hidden, you will find objects such as my bracelet and ring, along with other elements that have special meaning to me. This is a reflection of who I am today and what I will carry with me.

Interview:

How old are you? Grade? Family? I’m 18 years old and a senior at OA. I live with my parents at home and have always lived in Easton. How did you become an artist? How long have you been practicing? I’ve loved art ever since I can remember. My family on my mom's side is very artistic as well, and my mom has always been into crafts and other art forms which got me interested. I was big on making string bracelets, holiday decorations, and a bunch of other random things as a kid. I got to refine my art skills through high school, although I still love trying out new mediums and crafts to keep things interesting. What inspires you? I find a lot of inspiration for both artwork and crafts through pinterest and instagram accounts. If I see something I like I’ll try to recreate it and add my own spin to things as well. What is your favorite medium? Drawing pencils. I love the precision I am able to achieve with the pencils and the control they offer. What do you like most about being an artist? I love the ability to make a vision come to life. It’s very rewarding to have an idea of what I want to create in my head and actually get to make it happen. Do you want to pursue this in the future? Art will always be a part of my life. Creating new things brings me a lot of joy, and even though I am going into college as a business major, art will remain a hobby of mine. What does your art mean to you? My art to me shows perseverance and growth. Working through a project has its challenges, but I always learn more about myself after each piece finished. What are you working on now? Right now I am currently working on our final assigned project in Art 4. We are creating pieces that reflect a topic or issue in the world that is important to us, mine being ocean pollution.