For juniors Molly O’Boyle, Clare Odegard and Anna Rayburn, their necessity is art.

O’Boyle, Odegard and Rayburn find that they must express themselves, and they channel that expression and creativity through their artwork that they make.

“I make things,” junior Anna Rayburn said.  “That’s a requirement for my existence.  This is like what I do now. This is what works.”

Rayburn has recently begun crafting clothes and jewelry, and finds herself inspired by fashion from periods as far back as the 1500s. She also enjoys using old clothes or jewelry and recreating them.

“Mostly I use stuff that I find,” Rayburn said. “I like using my grandma’s old jewelry. If I do buy things its really minimal or used stuff from a thrift store that I can take apart and modify.”

Like Rayburn, Odegard often feels the need to create things.

“I’ve always made art, even if it was silly anime in sixth grade,” Odegard said. “I’ve always had a need to make things. I’m very drawn to it and I can’t explain why. It’s there and I can’t ignore it.”
Odegard uses whatever resources she has around her to channel her creativity, including her bedroom. She decorates it by drawing on her walls, and creating webs of yarn and lights in several corners of her room.

O’Boyle, who began painting abstract paintings less than a year ago, finds herself constantly thinking about painting.

“I’ve always been doodling on all my notes,” O’Boyle said. “Even though I just started, now it’s like I need to paint. If I don’t, I get really tense. It’s a real relief to paint.”

O’Boyle also finds painting to be a very personal act, in which she discovers her faith, her emotions and nature.

“When I see a painting of mine, I can see exactly what I was feeling,” O’Boyle said.  “I feel very connected. That’s the thing about art, you’re putting yourself out there.”
O’Boyle doesn’t display her artwork or show friends because she feels it’s a more personal activity which few people can relate to.

“Not many people know that I paint,” O’Boyle said. “I keep it a secret. Most people, when I tell them that I paint, they’re like ‘Hm paint, what does that mean?'”

Odegard also feels that what she creates is personal, and keeps most of her artwork to herself.

“I hang [my art] up in my room sometimes and then sometimes I don’t do anything with it,” Odegard said. “Stuff I make at home I don’t really show anybody, unless they ask.  I don’t really give it away.  I don’t know how much people want my art as gifts.”

According to O’Boyle, her artwork is a part of herself, and showing someone her artwork can be compared to showing someone her own emotions or thoughts.

“I’m putting myself on the canvas,” O’Boyle said. “I almost feel vulnerable showing people what I’m feeling even if they can’t tell what I’m feeling. It’s kind of scary.”