Helen Zhang was the last of the nominees that the fine arts judges saw at the end of a long day.
But they weren’t too tired to lean into her work. And when it came time to pick the Artist of the Year, Zhang ended up first.
“That’s an artist that I can’t wait to see what they’re doing a year from now,” said Carl Smith, director of design at Laguna Art Museum.
“She’s authentic, compassionate and driven to help others.”
Zhang, 18, is deaf in one ear. Her art reflects her experience as someone growing up with a disability. Only her hearing impairment has been an asset, not a liability.
“My work often explores themes of resilience and vulnerability, encouraging others facing similar challenges to honor their experiences,” her website says.
That work includes oil paintings, charcoal drawings, mixed media, photography, ceramics, installations, and a mural at a local children’s medical clinic.
She also plays cello.
The series of paintings she presented to the judges depicted three of the people she met on a school missionary trip to El Salvador with Crean Lutheran High in Orange — a boy from an orphanage, an impoverished woman from a rural community, and an older man in a mental hospital.
They all hold a seashell to one ear in their individual portraits. In a fourth mixed-media piece, colorful strings of yarn connect them through those shells.
“I now focus on amplifying unheard voices, symbolized by objects like shells as telephones, which capture and transmit marginalized voices,” Zhang wrote in her Artist of the Year statement.
She seeks empathy: “Mirrors and reflective elements invite viewers to recognize and respond to these stories, encouraging connection and empathy.”
More than take inspiration from her school trips — to Mexico as well as El Salvador — Zhang put her artistic talent to work creating religious-themed puzzles, coloring books, cards and T-shirts to bring as gifts. She paid for the materials with proceeds from an exhibition of her work and an internship.
Zhang is considering a double major in fine art and art history at the University of Pennsylvania.
She believes in using art as “a tool for social change.”
“It is the craft of observing beauty within everyday life and turning the ordinary into the magnificent.”
Fine Arts finalists
In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges selected four finalists from the 16 Fine Arts semifinalists whose work spanned drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, sculpting, and ceramics.
Ximena Lopez-Hernandez, Division 2: She came dressed in a long sleeve white shirt, a multi-colored tie, a black skirt, and purple tights. “I see myself as colorful, weird,” Lopez-Hernandez said. She’s more interested in seeking the beauty in someone’s personality than judging flaws in their appearance. Her ceramic sculptures with their googly eyes and protruding teeth reflect this. She only began taking ceramics as a junior at Valencia High. Lopez-Hernandez is 17 and plans to study ceramics at Fullerton College then transfer to a university. She’d like to teach ceramics.
Sophia Tang Nagel, Division 1: Nagel’s passion for fine arts took hold when she broke her arm in elementary school and couldn’t play sports or engage in other activities she enjoyed. She began crocheting and experimented with patterns and textures. From there, other materials and techniques presented themselves — notably painting and sculpting. Nagel, 18, is a senior at University High. She wants to continue her artwork while getting a degree in architecture. “My dream is to blend art and architecture to design spaces and structures that inspire people, not just visually but emotionally as well.”
Claire Jaeyoon Park, Division 1: Her shock as a young Korean immigrant at the processed food and poor quality in school cafeterias here has stayed with Park. So much so that she has continued a quest to use her talent in drawing, painting and mixed media to tackle social issues — poor nutrition, economic disparity, protecting the environment. Park, 18, describes herself as an activist artist. She managed to get traditional Korean food added to the school menu at Crean Lutheran High. Park said she will likely study public health at Brown University in Rhode Island, where she can also take art classes at Rhode Island School of Design.
Mary Jane Pfaff, Division 1: Drawing. Painting. Mixed media. Ceramic sculptures. 3D installations. Printmaking. Turkish marbling. Pfaff explores multiple art forms. She sees herself as more of a 2D or 3D artist. But she’s not sure she wants to do it for money. Selling her work and taking commissions made her feel that her art was becoming a commodity. “It’s really this money element that has sort of bothered me with art,” Pfaff, 18, told the judges. After graduation this year from Orange Lutheran High, she plans to study philosophy. But she’ll continue to create art. “I don’t really have a choice. I always felt like I have to create.”
The judges
Special thanks to the judges who helped evaluate students this year.
The judges who evaluated the 148 fine arts nominees and chose the 16 semifinalists were:
- Randy Au, Orange County School of the Arts
- Mauro Cardoza, Valencia High School
- Andrew Cortez, Orange County School of the Arts
- Jeanette Crow, Foothill High School
- Jon Ginnaty, Dana Hills High School
- Ariel Gjersvold, Orange Lutheran High School
- Heide Janssen, Executive Producer, Artist of the Year
- Heather Kim, Foothill High School
- Jane Klammer, Orange Lutheran High School
- Kim Lee, Atelier Creative Art
- Donovan Miller, Portola High School
- Jeannie Mooney, Orange Lutheran High School
- Jeffrey Picou, El Dorado High School
- Devan Rexinger, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
- Jillian Rogers, Woodbridge High School
- Brian Schulz, Capistrano Valley High School
- Somer Selway, Laguna Beach High School
- Samantha Squieri, Beckman High School
- Suzanne Williamson, Westminster High School
The judges who interviewed the semifinalists and chose the four finalists and the Artist of the Year were:
- Donivan Howard, Art Department Chair, Cypress College
- Heide Janssen, Executive Producer, Artist of the Year
- Kelley Moglika, Adj. Professor, Drawing and Painting, LCAD
- Michelle Murillo, Art Department Chair, Cal State Fullerton
- Janet Owen Driggs, Associate Professor, Cypress College
- Carl Smith, Director of Design, Laguna Art Museum
Division 1 students have had more than three years of fine arts training in school and/or privately. Division 2 students have had less than three years.
