The hierarchical structure of performing arts makes standing out somewhat easy. For instrumentalists there are myriad opportunities to take up leadership roles and first-chair positions, while young thespians are similarly always competing for parts and awards. But in the fine arts this opportunity to shine becomes rarer, and harder to view objectively. Especially in a high school environment, there are never ‘first-chair painters,’ which can often lead fine artists to be more understated or fall below the radar. For the month of October, The Paw is featuring one of the quietest, yet most talented and hardworking, student artists here at West Morris Central: senior Megan Lovas.

Lovas has been an artist forever, drawing and being creative her whole life, but her dedication to art began picking up in middle school, where art electives became more frequent. This grew even further into high school, where Lovas throughout her four years has taken almost every fine art class available, from Ceramics to Digital Art and Design.

Right now she’s in her second year of IB Studio Art, one of the largest undertakings available for a high school art student, and she’s flourishing. Her art is often on display in the main ramp, along with other IB Art students.

Lovas describes herself as “one of those kids who wants to try everything.” As previously stated, she’s taken the majority of Central’s art classes, and experiments often with style and medium. Right now she’s enjoying working with clay specifically, as she likes working with her hands in a 3-dimensional space. Her art on display, however, showcases her versatility and diversity of medium: from 5+ foot paintings to complex ceramic pieces. 

When asked about who inspires her, she cited her mother as her “number one supporter,” as well as the number of art teachers she’s had throughout her life. She tries to “keep art kind of compartmentalized to school,” so art teachers like Ms. Najjar here at Central are major influences as she does so much of her work in a school environment. That doesn’t mean Lovas isn’t creating in her free time, but she focuses more on creative and experimental endeavors when at home. In terms of artistic inspiration, Lovas draws most of her inspiration from nature and real life as opposed to the work of other artists. She still has favorites though, such as the finger-painting Iris Scott that she based her last painting on (for the IB art curriculum, students study the work of other artists and create their own art in similar style). 

In the future Lovas is interested in a career in art, pursuing a post-secondary education and then a career. Although she’s recognized the idea of being an art teacher as a fallback position, she is mostly interested in becoming her own artist and creator. Congratulations to Megan Lovas for being October’s Student Artist Spotlight, and you can see some of her work on display on the main ramp!