The Students Get Crafty During Pandemic series aims to share the various artworks individuals have been working on during these unprecedented times. 

Nysa Bhatia, Class of 2022, is a skilled and brilliant artist and has been painting since she came to Woodstock, 8 years ago. The theme for her artwork is traveling to different countries and exploring the outside world.

This painting is called “When in Rome.”

The medium of this painting is watercolour.

Bhatia describes this painting as “sensational.” She witnessed this view on top of the Gianicolo hill in Rome. “I was truly mesmerized. As soon as I saw how all the buildings were so beautifully put together and were complimenting each other, I knew that I had to draw this. The architecture was alluring and so detailed. You could see the city life, the people, and the places. I knew I had to draw this to remember the way I felt,” Bhatia said.

Asked about the message of the painting, Bhatia responded, “Every building has its own history and it’s up to the people to find out the message for themselves.” She wants her audience to visit Rome and witness the beauty of ancient classical architecture for themselves.

This  painting is titled “When in China,” and is also painted using watercolors.

Through this painting, Bhatia aims to communicate the beauty and richness of ancient Chinese culture.

“It is important to preserve culture and China has not done that very well,” Bhatia said.

China used to be a country with diverse cultures and a very unique background. She wants her audience to observe the nature and details of the painting carefully. Her inspiration was the unique design of ancient Chinese architecture. “The buildings made were so beautiful and different from other cultures.”

Asked to describe this painting in one word, Bhatia said, “surreal.”

This painting was also done with watercolours on a canvas.

“My best work is done with watercolors and I love how they all just merge with one another,” Bhatia said.

The inspiration behind this painting was a “surreal and futuristic world.” A stark contrast to today’s postmodern world, full of technology, Bhatia wants her future to be abundant with nature and human connections. Through this painting, like the others, Bhatia communicates the importance of preserving our rich culture and traditions. She wants the painting to evoke happiness in her audience, as they envision a brighter future for themselves. 

Mesa Tsurho, Class of 2022, is a gifted and enthusiastic artist and has always had a love for art.

“Parched” is the word Tsurho uses to describe this painting.

Painting is one of Tsurho’s favorite pastimes, and she translates exactly what she is feeling or thinking onto her canvas. While working on this, Tsurho felt extremely worn out and dehydrated.

She used acrylic paint on a canvas for this painting.

She wants her audience to look at the upper half of the painting as she spent a lot of time on the sky. She loves the way this painting turned out and wants viewers to feel happy and contented when viewing this.

Tsurho describes this painting as “deep.”

She had a lot of time on her hands during this time and wanted to play around with colors.

“I’ve always wanted to experiment with different shades, blending, and highlighting since I couldn’t play around with acrylic paint in my art class. In this painting, I made 2 pairs. A rock with another rock and a starfish with a rock because they seemed lonely on their own and everyone needs a friend,” Tsurho said.

The media for this painting is acrylic paint on a canvas.

Tsurho wants her viewers to feel the movement of the waves in the artwork. Like Tsurho feels at ease when looking at sunsets and waves, she wants her audience to find something soothing in the painting as well. 

Ira Ahuja is the A&E editor

Edited by Aadya Aryal