Ben Garmon
Hickory Day School
Mr. Jones

School Shootings

If people are influenced by historical events, some will take those events and turn them into something else. Many school shootings can be traced back to the shooters being influenced by the events of the Holocaust and the leadership of Hitler. 

Elizabeth Garmon
Hickory Day School
Mr. Jones 

War Affects Everybody 

My piece shows how war affects everyone, even if they were in a better position than others. The flames represent how it consumes everything we care about, and destroys lives.

Bella Gebler
Lynnhaven Middle School
Ms. Griffiths

Life in the Holocaust

My art represents and creates an environment full of numerous emotions. These include how prisoners had felt during the Holocaust, as well as a few questions going through their heads. These prisoners in the camps had to wear striped pajamas and were forced to do many unwanted actions during the Holocaust. Surrounding the individuals head, which is numbered, are questions going through their head. On the border of the art, are names burned into the wood, who should be remembered to this day. My piece of art was drawn by charcoal and burnt by a wood-burning pencil for the border. To conclude, the purpose of this art was to contribute an image into another individual’s head, of what people had sacrificed, and went through during this memorable event. In addition, as well as inheriting a few names of people who had sacrificed their lives.

Ruby Glover
Norfolk Collegiate School
Ms. DeWitt

Leading the Way 

Young children in American have begun to realize our government’s betrayal and are rising to the occasion. This is shown in my piece by having three determined child activists (left to right): Emma Gonzales, survivor of the Parkland shooting, Greta Thunberg, young leader of climate crisis response, and Malala Yousafzai, an activist for female rights, all portrayed in front of President Donald Trump. Tied to everyone’s necks are protest signs with the age they started activism, and President Trump’s current age. I am trying to get across that these young activists, and many more, are ameliorating the world more than our own President. What we do now will affect our future, and the individuals able to process and act upon these words are those in their teenage years and younger. We are leading our own way because the government can’t do it with us. 

Max Haan
Hickory Day School
Mr. Jones

Untitled

The blood on the picture symbolizes the agony and pain Jewish people suffered during the Holocaust. The picture symbolizes how I felt from seeing photos, and videos, and hearing stories from the Holocaust. 

Shane Harris
Norfolk Collegiate School
Ms. Archer

Life Can Only Last So Long

My picture represents the life and death of a Jew. One side of this drawing has the Jew’s way of life and the positive side of a Jewish people’s religions and beliefs. It also means, God please show mercy on me and my family’s soul. The other side represents the way Jews lives could potentially end up if they were captured by German soldiers. These images illustrate suffering. The Jews were killed in so many ways, some illustrated as shown, with people’s lives and families ruined to the point where they were separated through the many concentration camps that scared people. They wished they would never end up there. 

Vilhelmina Kitzmiller
Lynnhaven Middle School
Ms. Griffiths 

Abandoned Tragedies 

In this piece, I have depicted the fields of an abandoned concentration camp as they have come victim to the undoing of time. The trees and underbrush have grown to a tangled mass of leaves and branches. As you examine, the mid-ground of the scenery, you will see large rectangular holes with fragmented shovels. I decided to include these fields as many stories I have read depicted the workers ‘digging grave-like holes’. In the foreground you will surely have already seen the monarch butterfly jumping out of the page with the yellow-orange tones contrasting the blue and green of the background. The butterfly is perched on the metal fence which has become a recent addition to the camp. Along with the ‘DANGER, KEEP OUT’ sign posted as a warning, people who may have stumbled across the abandoned camp know they are not welcomed. Initially the butterflies were suppose to represent how the camp has now becomes a more tranquil place than it was before, but upon further research I found that the butterfly actually represents all the child deaths from the Holocaust which I found inspiring. 

Aspen Knight *Honorable Mention - Junior Visual Arts
Virginia Beach Middle School
Ms. Horner

The Sacrifices of Family

Google describes sacrifice as giving something up in consideration of others. In today’s society, fewer people are willing to make such strides; making the sacrifices of my family so extraordinary. I wanted to communicate my gratefulness through painting. To do this, I used dark colors and chiaroscuro to show how they risk and deprive themselves of opportunities to help us succeed. However, I wanted to make the water green rather than blue because green is associated with growth, and I wanted to symbolize the growth of our family. Additionally, the hands wrapped in chains symbolize the restrictions we place on them. Also, the three of us are less detailed and in a bubble to symbolize how we are still growing, and there is no prediction of how we will be in the future or how the world will look in years to come. 

Madison Lancaster
Lynnhaven Middle School
Ms. Griffiths

The Words on the Wall

The name of my artwork is The Words on the Wall. I decided to make this piece to represent how Jewish people carved symbols and signs into pieces of wood. Back then, Jewish people did not have anything to write with, so they usually took a stick or something around that and carved words and images into a random piece of wood they found lying around. I made this piece by burning words into the wood that I have to do with the Holocaust round the Swastika. I then blow-torched it to make it look old. I even put a stain on it to make it look even more rustic and aged. 
 
 

Kendall Lawson
Great Bridge Middle School
Ms. Rupe

Untitled

For my project I decided to make a hand mold to represent the Jews and all the others sticking through the rough times together. When my mother passed I had several people by my side who comforted me as a 10-year-old. They would say things like “everything is going to be alright,” and “I’m here for you.” Seeing the way that these people were treated reminds me of how grateful I am to have my family and friends. I could not imagine the way they were feeling. Those people left a mark, and just because it was erased does not mean it is still there. By holding hands they were there for each other even in the harsh conditions. Even though many did not survive to see the end, they struck together to comfort one another. Many would take in little children and women to help each other in the unsafe conditions and environment. 

Caitlin Lindgren 
The Williams School 
Ms. Lee

It Takes Courage

Life is filled with tough decisions whose answers are often unclear. Listening to your morals is important when making these decisions. However, in the middle of many wrongs, true good can be hard to discern. By listening to Holocaust survivors’ stories your morals become clear, but following your moral compass isn’t always easy. It takes courage to do the right things and listen to your morals. Courage was needed for Holocaust survivors to survive and share their stories. Listening to their stories can give you courage. You can use this courage to extend your hand to someone defenseless, alone, or in need, and help them continue. Listening to their stories has given me courage to follow my morals and help others. It has helped me see clearly through bullying, hatred and discrimination. By listening to survivors’ stories the pandemonium of deadly battles, and raging fires becomes clear.