Nearly everyone at Ladue High School has some kind of passion, whether it be a sport, an instrument, or a club. For senior Meadow Faulkner, this passion lies in art.

On Sept. 21 from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Old Orchard Gallery in Webster Groves displayed Faulkner’s art at the “33September” art show. The gallery can accomodate over forty people at a time, all eager to browse local art exhibitions.

“Meadow submitted her work to a ‘Call for Artists’ for the September show last month and her entries were accepted to be exhibited,” Daniel Raedeke, Faulkner’s AP Studio Art teacher, said. “The exhibit was independent of my class and is organized by MYSLART.org. I referred Meadow and some other students in my AP Studio Art class to the opportunity.”

The gallery displayed three of Meadow’s pieces: Cubs, Bulldog, and Alces alces, all featuring acryllic on burlap. Cubs depicted two young people, one male and one female, Bulldog showed a bald middle aged man, and Alces alces portrayed an elderly man with wavy hair. All four people were painted with slightly bared teeth in an intentionally unrealistic style.

“I made all three of them as a personification of an animal,” Faulkner said. “Cubs is supposed to signify two bear cubs, Bulldog is supposed to signify a bulldog, and Alces alces is supposed to demonstrate a moose. I wanted them to look folksy and vintage which is why I painted on the burlap.”

Cubs and Alces alces were both on sale, for $250 and $300 respectively and Cubs has since been sold. However, Bulldog was not given a price.

“It’s not for sale,” Faulkner said. “I’m really attached to that one.”

Raedeke was unsurprised that Old Orchard Gallery chose to display Meadow’s work. In fact, he believes that much of the student art produced in his class could compete with the best of the region.

“[Faulkner] is one of the most prolific and hardest working artists we have at Ladue High School,” Raedeke said. “She is constantly producing new work and she has a thoughtful and focused approach to her subject matter and content. Not only is her work technically advanced and interesting to look at, but it is also conceptually rich and explores and combines a great variety of content.”

Faulkner noted that she had no specific reason to create these particular pieces. Although appreciative of the opportunity to share her work with the public, her primary focus was not pleasing other people.

“It’s obviously nice to have something you spent a long time on appreciated, but when I make art, it’s impossible to make everyone appreciate it so it isn’t one of my main goals,” Faulkner said. “Right now, I am just building my resume for college.”

Faulkner has been painting since she was “incredibly tiny” and never lost her passion for the craft. She hopes to attend the Glasgow College of Art, Scotland’s only independent art school which offers research opportunities in the fields of fine art, design, and architecture. By channeling her passion into a career, Faulkner hopes to continue to convey her thoughts and feelings through art.

“Art is what I do in my free time,” Faulkner said. “Some people can express themselves through words, but the images and the colors of art are how I can show what I’m feeling.” #