High school senior Sophia Hagelman stands next to her completed senior project, a 4-foot by 4-foot painting of a Tlingit-style eagle. She collaborated with students at Evergreen Elementary to create the artwork depicting the school mascot.
Sophia Hagelman discovered a love of art at 9 years old when she saw her mom's sketchbook. She took up the hobby herself and has used those skills to create her senior project.
Last fall, Hagelman completed a painting for Evergreen Elementary of the school's mascot, an eagle. The painting was created with the Tlingit culture in mind and uses the indigenous style of art.
"The elementary school didn't have very much cultural stuff, so they wanted something to put in there," the high school senior said. "I was very honored that I could do that."
She got the idea after talking with the Evergreen's social-emotional learning art teacher Tawney Crowley and her mom, Laurie Hagelman, the school's fifth grade teacher. They agreed a cultural aspect would be important for the piece, and the idea for the mascot came after.
"We knew from the beginning that we wanted to represent the Tlingit culture in our community," Crowley said. "Once (Sophia) had a general idea of what she wanted to do for her project, we knew that it would be best to contact the tribe and any additional members."
Crowley said Hagelman contacted the tribe and spoke with member Virginia Oliver, who said it would be a good idea. The intent, Crowley said, was to always be respectful and conscious of the culture.
From there, planning started on how Hagelman would tackle the project, which would be painted on a 4-foot by 4-foot surface. Students from all the grades at the elementary school helped. "They painted it and I would help by painting and fixing. They did really well."
Hagelman, 18, sketched out the original idea and was introduced to some retro technology to enlarge the image to the size needed.
"I helped her brainstorm ideas for design layout and tools for the job," Crowley said. "We even broke out an old school projector, which she had never seen before!"
It was a true collaborative effort, as Hagelman wasn't afraid to ask for help or advice when needed, Crowley said. "It seemed like the perfect project to play to her strengths and interests. She also took on the tedious task of drawing such a large design by hand. It took her several hours just to transfer the design."
The entirety of the job took about 24 hours spread out over several days and uses red, white and black acrylic paint. It's one of the two mediums Hagelman enjoys using; the other being pencil for sketching and shading.
Though she will continue sketching portraits and painting as a hobby - possibly even selling work in an online marketplace - her main focus after high school will be certified nursing assistant training. She hasn't settled on a school yet, but she's working with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) in Juneau to find the right fit.
"They help students get education, jobs, etc.," said Assistant Principal Bob Davis. "They're working with a number of our students, including Sophia, to get into different educational programs. Originally, she was looking at a CNA program with Job Corps, but DVR said, 'Wait a minute, there are all these other options.'"
Those options included schools in Ketchikan, Juneau and Anchorage. Hagelman said she's looking closer to Anchorage, since her family is moving there after the school year is finished.
Crowley said the art project helped students unlock their creative talents, and she's hopeful for more collaborative efforts in the future.
"The elementary kids have blown us all away with their passion for art and all-around growth in the subject," she said. "Art can be very intimidating for some and seeing an older kid enjoying and wanting to share in that enjoyment really gets these younger kids fired up. So much so that they came in on the weekend to have a paint session that lasted for several hours."
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