From the angelic flow of a brush stroke to the slightest detail, artists have the power to make a painting feel alive. When an artist is at work, she is able to express themselves in a new light and to give insight into herself that others often do not see. Convent of the Sacred Heart Freshman Kelly Mclaughlin does just this when creating her pieces.
“Everything I draw is different from the last piece of work. It shows that a variety of art shows a different piece of you,” Kelly said.
Kelly describes herself as fun, studious, committed and outgoing, but with art, she is able to convey other sides of herself that cannot be expressed in words.
Kelly is best known for her piece of art work in the. Sacred Heart chapel. The painting focuses on a tree, with five branches representing the Sacred Heart goals. Above the tree is a yellow and red sun which illuminates the painting. Each goal is represented by a picture that can be interpreted by each viewer in a different way.
Upper School Director of Campus Ministry, Mrs. Lori Wilson often takes her students into the chapel to view Kelly’s art work in order to let them interpret the meaning of the painting for themselves.  Kelly feels honored by this.
“The girls in the church seemed to say to me that all are part of God’s family and our building of community is about including everyone in our mission,” Mrs. Wilson said. “That we should strive to understand people and look for commonalities not identify our differences.”
Kelly’s art work continues to inspire the students of the Sacred Heart community.
“Her painting makes me think and second guess any bad decisions I could have made,” freshman Claire Uygur said.
Faculty members find inspiration through Kelly’s art, and Kelly herself.
“Kelly really does inspire me and sure I love her work, but she inspires me as an artist because being so young and being so committed is very rare,” Mrs. Raisbeck, Middle School Art teacher said.
With art, Kelly is able to express how strongly she feels about a topic and her paintings bring those feelings to life.  However, Kelly said that when she paints she never intends for a viewer to have the same feelings as she does, she wants each viewer to connect with the painting in her own way and allows her viewers to find a sense of peace through her painting.
 
– Jessica Johnson, Staff Writer