Senior Hannah Joseph does not remember when she first grew to love art. Her mother, Jackie Moran, recalls Joseph already drawing pictures at a young age with more mature abilities than the average pre-school student.
“She started drawing when she was really young,” Moran said. “She would draw full pictures when she was two and a half years old and she started taking pictures when she was four. I knew she liked to do it and had a different eye for those things.”
Now, after years of developing her artistic skills, Joseph has been given the opportunity to showcase her photography at her own feature ArtHop from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., May 5.
The exhibit is located at Fulton’s Folly Antique Collections on Olive and Fulton Street. There, visitors are welcomed to view and purchase Joseph’s pieces.
“After getting into photography, I realized this is what I wanted to do,” Joseph said. “I?ve been realizing that I actually might have some skill in the past couple of years. After becoming the photo editor, [on the Feather staff] it became natural. I feel like this [showcasing in ArtHop] is an actual step towards pursuing photography.”
Joseph began taking photography seriously when ’10 alumna Nacoya Villegas asked her to shoot her senior pictures. It started a trend, and now Joseph is paid for taking senior pictures for many of her classmates.
“I used to think it was just for fun, but now I?m also getting the bonus,” Joseph said.
Joseph first recieved the opportunity to feature her skills at ArtHop from senior Kelsey Gunner. At the time, the exhibit seemed to be just another distant idea, but Gunner’s mother Barbara, who works directly with the ArtHop, became interested in Joseph’s work.
“Kelsey’s mom works at [Fulton’s Folly Antique Collections], so she’s normally in charge of all these ArtHops,” Joseph said. “She knows that I’m into photography and painting. We had been talking about it for a long time; it just didn?t seem realistic.”
Gunner, who became friends with Joseph in seventh grade, says she has always been amazed with Joseph’s artistic talents.
“Hannah has always amazed me with how many artistic talents she has,” Gunner said. “Comparing then [when they became friends] to now, she has gotten a lot better and puts in more details. She has always been good at what she does.”
Gunner shares in Joseph’s excitement for the event and believes that this opportunity will change the way adults look at the works.
“It is so good for Hannah to be in an ArtHop that can showcase all of her talents and get her work in public rather than floating around on Facebook and school,” Gunner said. “It will get adults to look at them and possibly call her to take pictures or draw them something.”
Although Moran had no way to know if Joseph would continue art as she grew older, she finds joy in the work and is not surprised by her daughter’s achievements.
“It is amazing as a mom to be impressed with your own kid,” Moran said. “She impresses me with everything she does; it blesses me and makes me proud. I knew it [artistic success] was a possibility, but there are so many artists out there. I didn’t know if she would want to pursue it. I didn’t know it would happen, but it’s not a surprise. ”
Although the pieces will only be displayed for one night for ArtHop, people are welcome to inquire about the works, which will remain in the store after throughout the month of May.
For more information on ArtHop, read the March 24 column, Strands Salon exhibits wooden masterpieces.
For more information about the artwork, call Joseph at 559-908-0245.
