Photos courtesy of junior Lil Daane and senior Netti Wulfman.

  At San Luis Obispo High School, art programs have changed significantly in the face of COVID-19, with students staying home and using their own materials and mediums for projects. 

  Nationwide, the art industry, which previously was the third highest contributor of Gross Domestic Product in the US, has gone through huge economic setbacks. Film production cancelations, museum closings, and the prohibition of music venues all impacted the spread of art culture and economic profit for these industries. 

  In light of these changes and the unpredictability of the art industry, Expressions looks into the work of a couple student artists and how COVID-19 has affected them, either for better or for worse.

  For digital media student and senior Netti Wulfman, graphic design started out as an experiment. 

  “I decided to get into digital media because I wanted to try something completely different and also strengthen my tech skills, which was definitely a good choice for me considering how much I like it now. When it comes to style I really enjoy things that are colorful, confusing, and eye catching,” said Wulfman.

  On the other hand, junior Lil Daane has been practising her art form for years. 

  “I’ve been collaging since 7th grade, and since then my sense of style and composition with collaging has improved in terms of layering magazine images, adding stickers, and drawing. In terms of my blind contouring, I started pretty recently in like February, and I’m pretty experienced with watercolor, so I’ve been working on commissions and custom pieces all month. My influences are Vogue magazine, which I use for my collages, and artists like Aya Takano and Yositomo Nara for their unique colors and details. I’m also a big Pinterest person, and I take some of my inspiration from there. High fashion also inspires my pieces,” said Daane.

  For Wulfman, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on their artistic journey. 

  “I think that COVID has changed everyone’s lives drastically, but when it comes to personal experience it’s been mostly positive change (no pun intended): without COVID I never would have changed schools, so I would have never taken a digital media class or met all the friends and teachers I now have that encourage me to pursue it as a future career.”

  Daane added how the pandemic can fuel art and change our perspective.

  “In terms of COVID, we can’t go out to see our favorite art in museums, but the emotion this year has held has inspired a lot of great art and creation that mirrors the complexity of our time currently.”

  Over all, while the art industry may have taken a hit from the pandemic, many artists are using this time to grow, change, and find out new things about themselves that they never had the opportunity to explore.