Student Surrealist Art Exhibit Online: 2023 Pinellas County

Josie Eaton
Attack of the Killer Kiwis
Drawing
Academie Da Vinci
Art Teacher: Wendy Stanziano
Grade 7

I feel like art is too serious sometimes, so I like drawing things that are funny, yet interesting visually. My sister was telling me about kiwi birds and fruits. Later I had a nightmare about them, so I drew them. As terrifying as the dream was, I think the piece turned out pretty cool.

Adrianna Pignato
Standards
Mixed Media
Academie Da Vinci
Art Teacher: Wendy Stanziano
Grade 7

The meaning behind my artwork is to show how society’s standards influence people. I got the idea from a dream I had when I was younger about being stuck. The dream theme influenced me to remember this dream. My identity is expressed in this piece by me being under the mask and someone who meets the standards on top.

Jane Pullin
Delleton
Mixed Media
Academie Da Vinci
Art Teacher: Wendy Stanziano
Grade 7

The meaning behind my artwork is a dream I had about love. There were two people, and they were sitting next each other. The boy turns into a flamingo. I was sitting on the floor by them because the girl is my friend. The eye on the flamingo represents me keeping an eye on them.

Ákos Tamási
The Last Sunset
Mixed Media
Academie Da Vinci
Art Teacher: Wendy Stanziano
Grade 6

Future, despairing force of nature.
I thought that my dream would surely one day become reality, which is good and bad at the same time.
Dream and Reality
Past and Future often cross each other and into reality too.
If we don’t take care of our planet, it’s desolation and natural catastrophes.
The image is lifelike and disturbing.
They are coming.
The original drawing was made by shading with a colored pencil. Then I added a digital filter.

Stella Facklam
River of Dreams
Painting
Carwise Middle School
Art Teacher: Lori Manning
Grade 8

Looking up and feeding your eyes with the image in the sky. A city in the clouds, a river of dreams. Though, once it rains, the city will fall. We need to wake up before it does.

Kayley Hecimovich
Coffee in Bed
Painting
Carwise Middle School
Art Teacher: Lori Manning
Grade 8

Surrealism is like a dream, its ordinary everyday things put together in an abnormal way to create a new abstract normal. My art is like a dream to me because of the memories I associate with it, waking up to the smell of coffee, watching TV with my family, the smell of spices and burning candles in my great-grandma’s house, and always wanting a fish, it is everything I love and everything I dream of.

Bailey Pate
Chocolate Cookies
Drawing
Carwise Middle School
Art Teacher: Lori Manning
Grade 8

My dreams are normally based on something I’ve seen, read, or watched recently. Unlike Dalí, my dreams are usually more realistic. However, this artwork is based on a combination of real and surreal. I used colored pencils, shading techniques, and lighting to represent the time and setting of the scene. This artwork represents my fears. The head in the jar represents suffocation, and under the water (outside the window) is my fear of drowning. The spiders represent a feeling of out of my control.

Alexia Talley
When the Stars Align
Digital Art
Carwise Middle School
Art Teacher: Lori Manning
Grade 8

In this piece, there are many objects and things out of place. Though, they all seem to make sense at the same time, synchronizing with one another. This is ‘When the Stars Align.’ I decided to use a variation of techniques in this work including a girl’s hair transforming into a spiral galaxy, literal flying fish, juxtaposition with a fish and girl’s eye, and planets substituting air balloons. There is confusion that still contains the aspect of beauty.

Mckenzie Borman
They Are Always Watching
Digital Art
Clearwater Fundamental Middle School
Art Teacher: Karen Santangelo
Grade 7

The art I did is like my dreams.  Random!  The people in the suits represent authority and they control me like a puppet.  My image shows my point of view and my perspective of the world.  My dreams are usually sad, yet scary.  Like my dreams…this art is meant to be forgotten.  I always feel judged in life which transfers unintentionally to my dreams. Therefore, in the comfort of my slumber I am judged.  Even the girl in my recurring dreams can’t look at me.

Sophia Leung
Seeing Predators in Candle Light
Drawing
Clearwater Fundamental Middle School
Art Teacher: Karen Santangelo
Grade 7

In class I played the exquisite corpse game, which gave me inspiration for my surreal dream.  My dreams are random which is exemplified in my artwork.  My dreams contain many random feelings, from stress, positivity, and curiosity.  Sometimes I feel a sense of overwhelming stress from the daily pressures of school and life’s responsibilities, therefore the water represents the pressure I feel during these times.  Like a heavy pressure against my shoulders.  However, I always feel so much positivity when playing with my younger siblings.  They bring such a bright light into my life which is represented in my artwork by the light shining from the candle.  My curiosity constantly shows in up in my dreams as I always wonder how and why my life is like it is, what would it be like if just one thing changed?  My curiosity is represented by the little fish closely inspecting and swimming around the “Cat Fish”, hoping to understand “WHY” things are the way they are.

Kristina Barjaktarovic
Needles to Say
Drawing
Dunedin Middle School
Art Teacher: Tom Schreiber
Grade 8

Alina Cook
Dentist’s Dream
Drawing
Dunedin Middle School
Art Teacher: Tom Schreiber
Grade 8

I based this artwork off of a strange dream I had a couple of months ago. I wanted her mouth to play a big role in this, and to make that happen I decided to make it seem as if her mouth was expanding and taking control of her. When it comes to drawing, I love creating slightly creepy things and I really wanted to set a unsettling tone to this artwork.

Lily Claudio
Eye See You
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Krista Schilling
Grade 6

This artwork is about two characters of mine. When I created these characters, I dreamed them up by thinking about supernatural things and concepts, like fantasy creatures and magic. These two characters are necromancers and are a species that I have made up. I decided to depict my dream in the way that I did to showcase how my characters use their necromancing abilities, and how they summon ghosts. I did this by making the background ghosts, but they are blending together, forming a wall behind them as they rise above them. I depicted them that way because of the way my characters can summon ghosts.

Alexis Dunlavey
Middle School
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Krista Schilling
Grade 8

What inspired me to do this piece is that I had the idea that I wanted to do something more on the creepy side. I wanted to create something that was abandoned so I came up with an abandoned locker room.

Isla Hoffmann
Human Condition
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Sara Black
Grade 8

Kaylie Mulder
An Adventure in Babysitting
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Krista Schilling
Grade 8

This art piece that I created was inspired by babysitting. I wanted there to be a mix of cute and creepy so decided on a cute outfit and chair for the baby. Then I decided to make the face of the baby the creepy part. By adding the hands in the eyes and the hand popping out of the mouth I definitely made it into a babysitters worst nightmare.

Annabelle Seward
Run
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Krista Schilling
Grade 7

My piece called ‘Run’ is a drawing about trying to run away from your truth and guilt. No matter how far you may try to run away from your actions, you’ll never make it without facing the result of your actions. You will just end up running in a never-ending fantasy.

Aiden Stanton
Possession
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Krista Schilling
Grade 8

Many things have gone into my artwork to make it turn out the way it did. I branchedout into new media when I created this piece. I used my pen and interpreted a cool, interesting dream I had. A human in a mouth is just something so interesting to me. The way the pen work came together on this piece surprised me. I feel like my art is very different than Dalí’s but the inspiration for my art is similar to his.

Evelyn Turkel
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Digital Art
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Sara Black
Grade 8

I remember having a strange nightmare. There was a monster trying to eat me in an eerie house full of eyes. I decided to depict my dream as a whimsical cartoonish illustration to help give the situation levity and a. sense of storytelling. Dali’s work to me is very realistic, despite being rooted in fantasy. Living in St. Pete, I’m very influenced by Dali and the surrealistic qualities of our surroundings. In this piece, I used a window in the background to pay homage to Dali and his surrealist style.

Aniyah Warfield
Flux
Drawing
John Hopkins Middle School
Art Teacher: Sara Black
Grade 8

This piece for me was something that naturally came to me when I considered the theme. I began as a bell work assignment that turned out great and was elevated to create the work for this show. This work was put together in a short timeframe because I was so inspired.

Christina Bode
Dragon
Drawing
Largo Middle IB World School
Art Teacher: Anthony Powell
Grade 8

The important element in my “shape of dreams” work was the dragon in the sky. I decided to depict my overall artwork by thinking about the dream I had. I was standing on one of the buildings asking myself “am I going to die?” Now looking up, I’m staring at this beautiful dragon with dark blue and amber scales flying towards me followed by trippy colors flowing around it.

Lilyin Butler
A Talkative Person
Painting
Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8
Art Teacher: Kurt Schuster
Grade 8

To know what someone is truly feeling or what their dreams and aspirations are in life, unless they tell you themselves, is difficult to grasp. Speech can be a powerful method at sharing with others what is important to you.

Veronica Heflin
Bbq Footlong (Deepfake Purposes)
Painting
Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8
Art Teacher: Kurt Schuster
Grade 8

My work is meant to represent being “Fake” or “Unreal”. I intentionally used details or items to represent what being fake or unreal means to me. I wanted it to be as distracting or eye-catching as possible. Because in our society, people go out of their way to be seen or noticed just for popularity or personal gain. I used butterflies in this work because of their relationship to themes or horror and gore. I always assumed they were more related to being unreal or pretty but somehow dangerous. I purposefully put them over the eyes to show how not everyone presents themselves as they truly are. The blood is targeted towards the fact that blood or gore is often presented on the internet wherever you go. It could be easily faked or be totally real. It is also coming out of little holes in the background. I wanted it to look like a factory in a way. Full of mass-produced people and falling wings relating to showing your true self. All targeting themes of society, what is fake or real.

Jaya Rodriguez
Levitating
Painting
Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8
Art Teacher: Kurt Schuster
Grade 8

My work is inspired by the feeling of lucid dreaming. It is an “out of body” experience while sleeping! To me, the shape of dreams isn’t something geometrical but rather anything your brain wants to resurface. It’s different every time, unlike the feeling of falling into the trance of a dream which, to me, always feels the same.

Yara Jones
The Dream World
Painting
Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School
Art Teacher: Daniel Kervin
Grade 7

I am really honor to be part of this exhibit, I had always admire Dali, and his capacity to understand that dreams and imagination are central rather that marginal to human thought.
In my “The Dream World,” I captured a piece of those dreamy moments I have all the time, a piece of world that is harmonious, a world where we gravitate in our own pace, no rush, when we are no competing or destroying one and other, we coexist in peace, my tree of life, the one that unify everything, where all our energy interacts as one, the universe bond.
I also portray the acceptance of many other worlds coexisting in harmony at the same time, even the ones you can’t see, by energy they are there, the feeling of going and transcending on the boat that is call “Life” and heading the eternal destiny with acceptance and peace.

Kyra Morales
Sleep Walker
Drawing
Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School
Art Teacher: Daniel Kervin
Grade 8

This art takes place at nighttime, when everyone else is asleep, but not Evie. Evie is the large person in the drawing, and even though there are usually some people awake at nighttime, no one is awake in this world. Everyone is asleep, whether they are asleep in a car, at their job, or anywhere. Everyone has fallen under a strange sensation, and now they are all asleep, except for Evie. This picture shows how people can feel lonely, like no one else is around, even though there are many around. Sometimes this loneliness people get can make them want to hurt the people who make them feel lonely, like a friend they lost. Therefore, Evie is holding a small person. A normal person. She wants to mess with him and make him uncomfortable, and she wants to throw him, but she knows she will get in trouble, so she doesn’t bother. The reason why Evie is so huge compared to her world is because she feels vastly different from the world around her, like she doesn’t belong there. She belongs in a bigger place, with bigger hearts. If only she could find that place…

Serenity Mack
Untitled
Painting
Oak Grove Middle School
Art Teacher: Lisa Sibley
Grade 6

Olivia Chen
Aaaaah! Spiders! Get Them Off of Me!!!!
Painting
Osceola Middle School
Art Teacher: Dwayne Shepherd
Grade 8

Lexi Jones
Dreams Dripping in Color!
Drawing
Osceola Middle School
Art Teacher: Dwayne Shepherd
Grade 8

Zack Mason
Get Me Out of Here!
Mixed Media
Osceola Middle School
Art Teacher: Dwayne Shepherd
Grade 8

Tyler Stepler
Below the Surface
Drawing
Palm Harbor Middle School
Art Teacher: Lisa Akers
Grade 8

This dream represents a struggle of identity during teenage years. It depicts the struggle of figuring out who one is. The sea creature represents the teenager who, on this search, is being pulled in different directions. The tentacles show the chaos and confusion. The seaweed’s grasp around the squid is the depression and anxiety felt. The spines and humpback whale fin represent the balance within, while the sea krait, or identity, tries to emerge.

Vi Vincent
Escape
Drawing
Palm Harbor Middle School
Art Teacher: Lisa Akers
Grade 8

This artwork is based on being true to myself despite my fears. Most of the dream is based on my deep desire to be understanding of my own experiences and the fact that I have been wronged by others. To represent my subconscious, I used my imagination paired with a sharpie to create my cathartic piece. This drawing is an illustration of my fears, but more importantly, the release of them.

Courtney Winkowski
Shape of My World
Painting
Palm Harbor Middle School
Art Teacher: Lisa Akers
Grade 8

I have a dream that one day we will live in a better world with better rights for everyone. We make progress to this future every day, though sometimes it can feel as if it is happening at the pace of a tortoise. In my piece, I hope I can show that we are still moving forward to sunnier days, and that a slow progression is better than none at all.

Trevor Obregon
The Inhuman Humanity of Living in Society’s Peripheral
Drawing
Pinellas Park Middle School
Art Teacher: Sandra Robinette
Grade 8

I was inspired to make this piece by the artistic style of surrealism and the works of Salvador Dali. It is a personal work to me, as it outlines one of the strifes I have had with my social presence for most of my academic years. This work was made with oil pastels and foam adhesives. Additional texture was added by scraping layers of pastel away with a scraper.

Jazlin Sinnavong
Don’t Eat the Eye that Sees You
Drawing
Pinellas Park Middle School
Art Teacher: Sandra Robinette
Grade 8

My Inspiration for this artwork was the term “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”  At the time I was really interested in drawing skeletons and eyes. Surrealism influenced me by allowing me to be creative and draw things I like. This artwork connects to me by showing what things I take interest in. It also allowed me to use new media that I am not used to.

Phuong Tran
Mother Nature
Painting
Pinellas Park Middle School
Art Teacher: Sandra Robinette
Grade 8

What inspired me to make this piece, “Mother Nature” was the myths of enchanted forests and Mother Nature. My art was also inspired by another Surrealism piece “Green Goddess” by Inka Essenhigh. My art was made with watercolor, colored pencil, black pen, pencil, and most importantly, a lot of thought. The features that made this piece surreal would be the human-like features on the trees and bushes and the hair transforming into flowers. This piece means a lot to me because it feels like a visual representation of my imagination and creativity. Many people don’t realize your imagination and thoughts should not be ignored, as it can be turned into so much more.

Sadie Voskian
The Lady in My Dreams
Painting
Seminole Middle School
Art Teacher: Courtney Timm
Grade: 7

In this particular dream of mine nothing seemed to change, every time I saw this “lady” she saw me every night for almost 3 years. The only thing I noticed was as I got older she looked sadder and sadder, until the end of third grade I felt a strange sense of comfort.

Anarella Aguirre-Ramirez
The Choice of the Path to Wisdom
Painting
Tarpon Springs Middle School
Art Teacher: Gabrielle Medina
Grade 6

My artwork, “The Choice of the Path to Wisdom”, shows a young girl trying to make up her mind about the path she will take in life. She chooses the path to wisdom, because she thinks wisdom is the most important element of life. Her wisdom is represented by things she loves and studies, such as drawing, butterflies, books, and flowers. She also uses her wisdom by reading books and creating a staircase to reach her dream.

Sophia Marrero
Be True
Drawing
Tarpon Springs Middle School
Art Teacher: Gabrielle Medina
Grade 8

My artwork is based on a dream I had, in which a man was going along with the day like anyone else, but then took off his hat and revealed his robot parts. Immediately the people around him were shocked and isolated him. I think this dream is a projection of my fears of being myself; how I’m worried everyone will leave if I say the wrong thing or show the wrong part of me.

Eva Salemi
Blind to the Beauty
Drawing
Tarpon Springs Middle School
Art Teacher: Gabrielle Medina
Grade 7

My artwork tells the story of a girl who is blind to the beauty of the forest around her because she was robbed of her sight. She only has a certain amount of time to escape the mushroom that she’s trapped in. I want people who view my artwork to wonder, “What will happen if she runs out of time?”

Yarianna Paz
Don’t Move
Drawing
Tyrone Middle School
Art Teacher: Karissa Herb
Grade 7

Alan Heron
Deep Dream
Digital Art
Boca Ciega High School
Art Teacher: R. Mark Villinger
Grade 12

Deep into your imagination there is a vast majority of endlessness that is beyond the human eye.

Aryanna McCullough
Unconscious Imagination
Drawing
Boca Ciega High School
Art Teacher: R. Mark Villinger
Grade 12

This piece deviates from the concept that we are constantly consuming. A part of us is perpetually consuming, albeit in many different forms.

Nhu Nguyen
Arachnidream
Painting
Boca Ciega High School
Art Teacher: R. Mark Villinger
Grade 11

Dreams are infinite and enigmatic. They can show your wildest dreams or worst nightmares.

Nancy Montes-Rosquero
Deers Dance in December
Drawing
Clearwater High School
Art Teacher: Clayton Burkey
Grade 11

Haley Sanchez
The Land of Shaped Dreams
Painting
Clearwater High School
Art Teacher: Márcia Reybitz
Grade 12

My interpretation of “Shape of Dreams” is that in my watercolor the forest, rabbit, and clock represent things that could happen in a dream. I thought about how it feels to see it there, its smell, and of the earth. The feeling of the sun touching my cold skin while walking through the forest. The clocks remind me that time goes so fast, and it’s the thoughts and ideas of the viewers. The eyes represent windows to the soul, especially when you look into the eyes of a loved one. Finally, the rabbit symbolizes prosperity, abundance, good luck, and fertility. Wonder comes with many ideas if we all see it in our dreams will come true, and that makes us who we are.

Blythe Golladay
A Fragmentation of Being
Sculpture
Dunedin High School
Art Teacher: Gulino Salvatore
Grade 12

The original concept for the project was to be purely abstract. To arrange a variety of simplistic shapes into spontaneity. However, the longer I looked at the shapes, the more I saw the possibility for something organic. Geometric shapes are restricted and consistent, which expresses the human features as inhumane. Only for the pieces to be in a spontaneous arrangement, almost like if it were to have combusted. It symbolizes breaking from the pressure of being forced into simplicity and the restriction of man, into something ridged and uniform.

Angelica Oie-Lugo
Prehistoric Birthday
Digital Art
Dunedin High School
Art Teacher: Gulino Salvatore
Grade 12

I decided to depict my dreams in a colorful scene of chaos as the dreams I intend to present do not seem rational. My dream represents the highlights of life being viewed before death and the vividness of memories that people treasure. I used various techniques such as perspective, shadows, and contrast in order to present the brilliance of my dream.

Jorge Palacios
On the Horizon
Drawing
Dunedin High School
Art Teacher: Gulino Salvatore
Grade 12

My art piece poses a different components and ideas put together into one piece. To design my piece trying to combine real elements in imaginary situations and represent how do you feel when you enter a dream an extraneous world where everything can happen in. This piece represents what do dream represents to me and how I see them like a beautiful and extraneous of our hopes and thoughts.

Rian Schultz
Passage Through Dreams
Sculpture
Dunedin High School
Art Teacher: Gulino Salvatore
Grade 11

The student surreal exhibition theme influenced me to begin thinking about prior dreams and my experience in those dreams. Unfortunately, no specific dreams came to mind, but while I was creating this piece a dream of a giant pink alien in the night sky haunted me for the entire week. It turned out that a fearful dream of giant pink aliens was the result of this sculptural process. So, the artwork preceded the dream, rather than the dream inspiring the artwork.

Sam Smuk
Delicacy of Dreams
Painting
Dunedin High School
Art Teacher: Gulino Salvatore
Grade 12

This piece is inspired by the feeling of waking up and not being able to remember your dream. The feeling of trying to piece together what you remember but not remembering how it all went together. It is an empty feeling because you just can’t remember what happened and you just can’t put the puzzle pieces back into place.

Monika Vernon
Yesterday’s Nightmare
Design
Dunedin High School
Art Teacher: Gulino Salvatore
Grade 12

As someone who constantly experience’s vivid dreams, I am transported into a second secret life, only for me. Although these dreams can be enjoyable, they can also easily turn into nightmares, highlighting deep subconscious emotions. Dreams so sweet and enjoyable can easily be twisted into these nightly terrors. Even though I am sleeping, I feel like I am awake.

Pansa Amarinnawa
The Shell’s Dream
Digital Art
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Rob Golombek
Grade 11

It came from my dreams. In my dream I realized I was dreaming. At that time, I thought…“If this existed in the real world, it would be good.”

Sophia Cannon
Midnight Manipulation
Drawing
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Eileen Iacobucci
Grade 11

Dreams are the window into the subconscious void that fills the mind with fears, anxieties, and expectations. “Midnight Manipulation” draws in the observer and permeates the scene with a sense of sinister control. The dark, hooded eyes add a void of emptiness that elicits foreboding. The toxic manipulator dominates the canvas, leaving only the mystery of her reaction; she is waiting fearfully for his next move or to make hers.

Kendall Clair
Tree Deity
Sculpture
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Nate Greenwood
Grade 10

My dream is somewhat of an open interpretation, yet there is a definite path I followed when I created this piece. I wanted to create a sculpture that depicted the force of nature that is the forest. However, it depicts not only a “tree” aspect, but the idea that the forest is a thriving ecosystem. While also conveying the unpredictability of the forest, and how it can be wild and whimsical, similar to a dream.

Christine Glezer
Zen of the Seas
Painting
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Eileen Iacobucci
Grade 12

Dreams contrast in emotion, some filled with anticipating horror while others soothe our anxieties. I have dreams which I cannot remember the next morning, only glimpses of unusual scenes that do not add up. In my piece, a woman’s hair morphs into a whirling wave, surrounded by displaced and disproportionate organisms that circle around her. My artwork represents peculiar dreams we lose ourselves in, orientated in a harmonized pattern that cures our worries.

Shelby Goodwin
Mountain Dreams
Sculpture
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Nate Greenwood
Grade 12

My family has a cabin in the mountains in Idaho, so I dream of being there all the time. My overall vision for this piece is a deity figure morphing from the mountains. I wanted to include visuals of snow, trees, grass, moss rocks, a cave and lava from a volcano. I’ve never done a nature themed project before and I had a great deal of fun with this piece.

Mikaela Parrish
Siren’s Song
Drawing
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Eileen Iacobucci
Grade 12

Since Ancient Greece, we’ve heard stories of sirens and sailors that lost their lives to their song. They became entranced by their melody and lured to a watery death. Siren’s represent temptation and desire, most importantly they symbolize a loss of control. Just like being lulled away by a siren’s song, we have no control of our thoughts or actions in our dreams. We surrender, like the sailors, and follow, no matter where they lead.

Lilyana Peterson
A Date with Fear
Drawing
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Eileen Iacobucci
Grade 12

Our fears often find us within our own dreams, a place where we expect to feel safe from the outside world and our own struggles. Some nights, it may seem as if one’s own subconscious is at odds with them, utilizing knowledge of their fears and failures to fabricate an unpleasant scene, consuming them with paranoia. A feeling that lingers thereafter, leaving one with questions unanswered. Must all dreams be fulfilling?

Hannah Philips
What Once Was
Photography
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Eileen Iacobucci
Grade 12

The endless cycle of climbing out of that hole, breaching the surface, just to be pulled back in even deeper than before. The feeling of sinking, losing control in your own mind, being eaten by the very thoughts of your subconscious. Using dislocation, to portray the nightmares produced by trauma solidify the profound effects our everyday lives have on our dreams.

Rebecca Scali
Family Dinner
Photography
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Rob Golombek
Grade 12

As a budding photographer, I thought I could put my belief in the paranormal to use in an amusing twist on surrealism. After being given the Dali surrealism assignment, I was ecstatic and started plotting out my ideas on paper. With some inspiration from a close friend, I conjured up a photo and turned it in.

Arielle Shabo
Circus of Life
Sculpture
East Lake High School
Art Teacher: Nate Greenwood
Grade 12
In my dream, I had worked an office job and one of my coworkers was an elephant with very much wisdom being put to work. Though the elephant could do the work well enough, he was aware he was not fit for or belonged within the company. The elephant is a character I can strongly identify with in many circumstances, and I believe many others may find him relatable as well.

Rrezarta Sadriu
Bird Brain
Painting
Hollins High School
Art Teacher: Heather Shell
Grade 11

Jashad Smalls
Arrangement of Time
Digital Art
Hollins High School
Art Teacher: Wendy Blair
Grade 11

Selena Vuu
I Weep at Midnight
Digital Art
Hollins High School
Art Teacher: Wendy Blair
Grade 10

Eden Burrows
Elaine
Sculpture
Lakewood High School
Art Teacher: Jayce Ganchou
Grade 9

I share the dream of being something other than the same as everyone else. i depicted my dream of being someone else because i have many dreams that have to do with forgetting everything about myself and becoming someone else. (Most of the time i wake up and i have no idea who or where i am) i used dry brushing to show the glow on Elaine’s flowers. the most vivid thing i remember about my dream was the name Elaine, it means shining light. the only question i have about my dream would be if she was a female deer, then how does she have male antlers?

Gavin Garrison
Purple Haze
Sculpture
Lakewood High School
Art Teacher: Jayce Ganchou
Grade 10

When looking into the dreams you can become anything you want. I based the piece off the idea of seeing the world through your own perspective. When choosing how I wanted to make this piece I chose a dragon/reptile eye due to the relation to a fantasy world. When seeing things through your own perspective many people have their own unique visions. Another big aspect of my piece is the multiple shades of purple. This color represents power and royalty, I used this to show that oneself is all they need. Once a person can respect themself, they find all the power they need within.

Kyla Groves
Eye Got My Eyes on You
Sculpture
Lakewood High School
Art Teacher: Jayce Ganchou
Grade 11

Some important elements from my dream that I shared in my artwork were the monster itself and the color scheme to give it a more realistic slimy look. The use of eyes was to show that people have very high expectations of me and have their EYES on me. I feel like the dream was a representation of how much I care about how I’m perceived by other people.

Cayla Lyman
Quixotic Dreams
Mixed Media
Lakewood High School
Art Teacher: Sandra Bourne
Grade 11

I chose to make this piece to represent how drifting off can lead us to creative and unrealistic thoughts. Having your head in the clouds can help produce beautiful surreal works of art, just like Salvador Dali. Using thread and needle to create the top layer of my piece, I represent the idealistic reality dreamers create.

Julien Torrens
Lives Left Behind
Digital Art
Lakewood High School
Art Teacher: Sandra Bourne
Grade 11
My art shows a story that some might not be able to see clearly, it may just be monsters with a heart and some detail but take note of the name, Left Behind, this is my story. Each zombie represents a part of me lost, a part of me broken, a part of me hurt, wounded, enraged, evil, that I bury it and Leave it Behind, there is no looking back. The important detail in the background is shared with my dreams, I have very few but when it happens its always little patterns and shapes lost in a void of color. I let the background flow a lot. Little thought to what was happening until I saw it with all the colors in place, from there I made all the small detail. See if you can make sense of the story, a lot of my identity is there.

Madyson Bartley
Dreaming of Airavata
Sculpture
Largo High Schools
Art Teacher: Lisa Bagley
Grade 12

Jason Berg
Decaying
Painting
Largo High Schools
Art Teacher: Erik Nordstrom
Grade 10

I wanted to create an uncanny image of a 1950’s housewife. There’s a feeling of claustrophobia through the darkness that approaches her, nightmarish in itself. The portraits of the woman on her wall all stare at her, looking down upon her actions. The decaying room represents her mind, how it is losing parts of itself in a dark time. She pours a glass of wine onto herself, unable to raise it further.

Nicole Moran
What Nightmares are Made of
Sculpture
Largo High Schools
Art Teacher: Lisa Bagley
Grade 11

Thomas Walker
Dreams Don’t Work (Unless You Do)
Digital Art
Lealman Innovation Academy
Art Teacher: Megan Corley
Grade 11

Grace Waters
Dust Comes Alive Under Your Bed
Sculpture
Northeast High School
Art Teacher: Scott Tilbury
Grade 11

Neico Carapellucci
The Love that Rots
Drawing
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Julianna Guccione
Grade 11

Ava Carollo
Stories Coming to Life
Sculpture
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Brianne Gates
Grade 10

Meghan Cole
False Security
Drawing
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Julianna Guccione
Grade 9

Sophia Giannotti
Castle in the Sky
Sculpture
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Brianne Gates
Grade 12

Building castles in the sky. Stones glistening upon the rising sun, floating atop the clouds. This structure, much like many dreams that end up frivolous, they may seem gloomy and dark. But, this is only until you look closer, its golden beauty, containing all of its potential, is discovered.

Ruby Kersey
Beam Me Up
Photography
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Brianne Gates
Grade 10

My chosen art piece represented my idea that dreams can transport you into other worlds. My dreams are filled with travelling to places that feel like “whole new worlds”. In the photo, the viewer feels like they, themselves, have travelled to a strange new land. One method I used to capture my dream was to paint a galaxy sky over a vintage photo to truly show that the “photo” was not taken from anywhere we have ever been. One of my favorite parts about travelling is discovering the unknown and my art piece is set strange and foreign place, never seen before.

Avery Latto
Fishy
Drawing
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Julianna Guccione
Grade 11

Maryssa Osborn
Finding Peace
Drawing
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Julianna Guccione
Grade 11

Colbi Pedzich
Underwater Daydreams
Drawing
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Julianna Guccione
Grade 10

Juanita Ruan
Eat Cake
Sculpture
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Brianne Gates
Grade 12

In my artwork, Eat Cake, I used a woman crumbling to pieces like a birthday cake to depict a dream of falling apart. Using clay, I created the face with parts missing and crumbling off, representing the women falling apart with age. The exhibit influenced me to create a piece that represents a reoccurring dream of mine in a relatable way using an event that everyone experiences.

Paige Williams
A Walk Among the Clouds
Photography
Osceola Fundamental High School
Art Teacher: Brianne Gates
Grade 11

Dreams appear in all sorts of shapes. Dreaming can feel like entering another world, or like wandering above the clouds. In this world, maybe the birds can rest their wings and walk instead of fly. We can’t see this while awake, as we are far below, and the bottom of the clouds would block the view. The only way to explore a land such as this is to dream of it. In a dream you can explore a new reality without ever leaving your bed, or maybe it’s your lily pad.

Katelynn Anderson
5 Senses
Drawing
Palm Harbor University High School
Art Teacher: Wipoj Huse
Grade 9

The process of bringing my design to life with an alcohol marker medium. My vision for this piece was to keep it surreal and to relate it to a dream I had where I couldn’t control what my body was doing, as if I was seeing it through a lense the camera on the face showing that. This piece was meant to shock my audience, with more and more details every time that they hadn’t before.

Gianna Garelli
Teapot of Dreams
Ceramics / Glass
Palm Harbor University High School
Art Teacher: Jay Titus
Grade 11

Inspired by one of my favorite movies, I decided to make a whimsical teapot that one might see in a dream. To create the teapot, I used clay coils to shape it into the form of a teapot than etched slabs of clay to form bricks, stones, and holes to represent rivets. When the piece was fired I used underglaze with water to distress the brick and stone designs.

Jenna Jordahl
Patient for Reciprocation
Photography
Palm Harbor University High School
Art Teacher: Amanda Swisher
Grade 11

Isabel Powers
The Artist in the Vase
Digital Art
Palm Harbor University High School
Art Teacher: Wipoj Huse
Grade 10

The element in my dreams that is emphasized is flowers, which I depicted through juxtaposing a double image of a geisha in an ikebana arrangement to an open field of flowers. My dream reveals my attraction for the geisha via the symbolism behind red chrysanthemums. While my art holds similarity to Dali’s dream art in the implementation of a simple sunset, the symbol of the rising sun is unique to my dream.

Emma Sinning
Introspection
Ceramics / Glass
Palm Harbor University High School
Art Teacher: Jay Titus
Grade 12

In dreams, rams can represent an obstacle that one is facing or that or that something important is coming up. Which is why I had the horns of the ram coming back and stabbing itself. To represent the theme of many dreams where I am stressed about something that is coming up and end up sabotaging myself like ram in my art.

Carina Esponilla
Stella
Digital Art
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Amber Quimby
Grade 10

In the realm of the unconscious, dreams are often expressed with familiarity; regardless of how warped the series of events may seem, they feel eerily natural. In my work Stella, I attempt to portray a sense of my own familiarity with a dog in my daily life: Stella. In the way Dalí is familiar with Gala as his muse, I am familiar with Stella as my muse.

Aiden Evans
Fish Market of the Subconscious
Drawing
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Steve Beverage
Grade 9

My piece takes place in an aquarium. A place where you go to look at sea animals. But, not only that, in a far hallway where no one really goes, you can buy fish. The fish sellers are fish themself but are also part human. Even though the hallway is unknow to most people the two friends are walking through, joking and laughing as they walk.

Kassidy Farrar
Table for Two
Sculpture
Pinellas Park High School
Art Teacher: Dana Smalley
Grade: 9

When creating the idea for my surreal sculpture, I referred to a dream I had before about a scene in Alice in Wonderland where the mad hatter was hosting a tea party, but instead of Alice, it was a starving cow. In the dream, the animal didn’t eat any of the food on the table, but just watched everyone else in agony. When we started the project and the requirements were to distort the proportions of an animal, my idea of a cow with a tea set on top of it, as if the cow was a table, hit me. I wanted the sculpture to be as random and unexpected as possible.

For me as an artist, the dream and sculpture connect to me on a personal level as it is unable to reach the food emotionally and more importantly, physically, on its back. I think, considering the sculpture being my first meaningful 3D creation in general, it holds a special sense of importance, especially considering it will be on display for anyone, any stranger, to make assumptions about.

Xai Guzman
Jesture Dreams
Painting
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Amber Quimby
Grade: 10

Audrey Ho
Psychedelic Ram
Sculpture
Pinellas Park High School
Art Teacher: Dana Smalley
Grade: 9

Shiori Kosar
Afro-Futurist Dreams
Digital Art
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Amber Quimby
Grade: 10

Victoria Hunter
Le Voyage de Penelope
Digital Art
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Brian McAllister
Grade 12

I decided to depict my dream using bizarre colors and distortions in the color and shape of myself. I also used juxtaposition and placed myself into the wild with binoculars in front of a golden moon to further that idea of a dream. I did this by changing the color scheme of myself in a photo several different times, separating my body into parts, and then putting them back together and distorting the image.

Shiori Kosar
Afro-Futurist Dreams
Digital Art
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Amber Quimby
Grade: 10

Molly Plattner
Two Sides of the Same Molly
Drawing
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Steve Beverage
Grade 9

In a world filled with repetition, rules, and reticule it is easy to become bored and uninspired. Dreams can be a great source of inspiration and vibrancy. In my piece, it was important to contrast the two worlds, reality versus my subconscious dreams. These dreams that are full of color and peace allow me to break free of the monotonous reality. Expressing these dreams through art allows me to channel those dreams and bring them into my reality.

Finn Reddick
The Visionary
Drawing
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Steve Beverage
Grade 9

When I think about my dreams, I don’t necessarily see them as “normal”. I believe my dreams, and my nightmares, don’t have a fine line to distinguish them from each other. When I dream, I see it as my emotions but in a visual perspective. My life and its innerworkings come together to create my pieces, and I believe it makes each of them unique.

Marcus Rideout
Dream Weaver
Digital Art
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Brian McAllister
Grade 12

Dreams are powerful visions into an artist’s mind and soul, especially when interpreted and expressed on the canvas. I personally don’t have many fantastical dreams. When offered the theming of “The Shape of Dreams”, I chose to focus on dreams as a whole, rather than attempting to force myself to dream up an inspirational idea. I fell in love with the vision of a being who shapes dreams of the waking world, a Dream Weaver.

Kaitlyn Sudduth
Dream of My Future
Drawing
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Amber Quimby
Grade: 10

Nevaeh White
Worlds Reversed
Painting
Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
Art Teacher: Brian McAllister
Grade 9

If the roles were reversed between ocean life and humans, what would it look? The piece I created is how I imagined it would be. The most important element of this piece is to understand the meaning behind it. The goldfish symbolizes humans. The human figure symbolizes ocean life. Lastly, the fishbowl symbolizes the ocean itself. Art is full of meaning and emotion; I hope my piece did the same.

Angel Kelley
Blossom
Photography
Seminole High School
Art Teacher: Blaine Barden
Grade 12

Abigail Ralph
The Judgement from Within
Photography
Seminole High School
Art Teacher: Blaine Barden
Grade 12

Valeria Jaimes Torres
Kings and Queens of the Household
Painting
St. Petersburg High School
Art Teacher: Rachel Koral
Grade 12

Keirstan Johnson
Field of Faces
Painting
St. Petersburg High School
Art Teacher: Rachel Koral
Grade 11

Alana Smith
False Tranquility
Drawing
St. Petersburg High School
Art Teacher: Rachel Koral
Grade 10

Olivia Tucker
Dark Forest
Painting
St. Petersburg High School
Art Teacher: Rachel Koral
Grade 10

Vanessa Barcenas
Sunny Day
Mixed Media
Tarpon Springs High School
Art Teacher: Jason Hubbard
Grade 9

Lee Chemlen
My Esteem Is Up In Flames
Mixed Media
Tarpon Springs High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Marmorale
Grade 11

My Artwork is a portrayal of a dream I had many years ago that depicts insecurity and panic. I was inspired by the theme “The Shape of Dreams”. The highlights and depth depicted in the man in the mirror are made to portray pain, as if he were vibrating and moving. The colors I used were meant to make the viewer feel like they are in a dream like state.

Painter Mack
Dream Inception
Mixed Media
Tarpon Springs High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Marmorale
Grade 12

This piece depicts neither a good or bad dream. Instead, the image is meant to depict the feeling of being stuck in a dreaming liminal loop. The expression of the dreamer being neither despair nor content. Instead, the piece is meant to depict the confusion of not being able to identify or explain one’s dreams or the feeling it creates after we wake up. Despite how surreal our dreams get; we can’t help but wonder “What does it mean?”

Savannah “Sav” Mangin
Subconscious Deconstruction
Mixed Media
Tarpon Springs High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Marmorale
Grade 12

Ideology is a dangerous thing – mindless devotion, a sense of self-righteous enlightenment and adherence to a man-made god. This piece was inspired by the show’s theme, my experiences with religion, and my journey through deconstructing organized beliefs and forming my own. I wanted to express the feeling of freedom that comes with breaking down a mask and living from my heart.

Juliana Marinin
Split Persona
Mixed Media
Tarpon Springs High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Marmorale
Grade 12

I decided to depict my dreamscape as the tarot card of The Fool. It is said to represent both innocence and trust in the universe, as well as a lack of good judgement and naivety. The two faces represent the double-edged sword of taking the leap of faith into new beginnings. I used a light color pallet to help the views feel as though they were in a dream when looking at the work.

Wesley Tsikouris
Land of the Damned
Drawing
Tarpon Springs High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Marmorale
Grade 12

Dali is a personal hero of mine. The first time I came to the Dali Museum I was roughly nine or ten. I remember seeing his works and being in shock that someone was able to draw their dreams so vividly. Seven years later I find myself being able to create such artworks. My work is inspired by the style of Dali mixed with my own dreamscape.