Student Surrealist Art Exhibit Online: 2026 statewide

Makayla Slade
F0110w the r1ver’5 fru1t, & y0u sh411 4rr1ve @ the c0nf1dence y0u seek
Photography, Digital Painting
All Saints Academy
Art Teacher: Nancy Fonseca
Grade 8

I was intrigued by The Persistence of Memory, the melting elements stood out to me. My melting fruit represents the mix of emotions children feel as they gain confidence. I drew inspiration from Salvador Dalí’s hidden imagery, long titles, and surrealist style. In my piece, a shy person begins to grow, but the pixelated image shows they are still unsure of themselves.

Isabella Hernandez
Surreal Amusement Park
Colored Pencil, Ink, Marker
Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of The Arts
Art Teacher: Gerald Obregon
Grade 8

My inspiration for my art piece is myself. When I was assigned to make the piece, the word “dream” ran through my head so I started to think about dreams people might have. Then, I remembered that usually when someone dreams and they talk to someone in that dream, their words feel loud and sticky – at least to me. I knew I wanted to include an octopus into my piece to give the sticky feeling, but to have someone talk I needed something loud to blur out the sound. So I picked a roller-coaster.

Jade Lopez
I hate fish
Colored Pencil, Marker, Watercolor
Arvida Middle School
Art Teacher: Nadia Fernandez-Castillo
Grade 8

I created this surrealist piece to represent my strong discomfort toward fish, placing them all around me floating and even hidden where they’re least expected. I used my eerie feelings toward them and transformed them into a dreamlike scene. Through this, I show how something ordinary and natural can feel strange and deeply uncomfortable.

Valentina De La Pava
Puppet Master
Mixed Media
Arvida Middle School
Art Teacher: Nadia Fernandez Castillo
Grade 8

In my art piece, I harness symbolism, transformation, and levitation. The floating eyes in the background symbolize heightened perception and self-awareness, emerging from my own struggle with social anxiety. As the puppet master, I guide each movement, embodying my personal transformation and asserting dominion over my own life, as each tug of the string is a powerful reclamation of presence and power. “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”.

Mason Templin
Misplacement
Colored Pencil, Graphite, Marker, Watercolor
Audubon Park School
Art Teacher: Laura Markley
Grade 8

I responded to the theme by drawing a self portrait of myself, using eyes as symbolism of the stress and different emotions of pressure for perfection by your own self, and teeth as stories that i made by talking and creating memories. Elements in my artwork that connect to my “surreal self” are mostly the misplacement of mind and random facial features around the paper, so it still represents me in a more surreal way.

Miley Rivera
Mask of the Mind
Colored Pencil, Marker
Avon Park Middle School
Art Teacher: Margaret Pierce
Grade 8

My artwork “Mask of the Mind” portrays how people act and the growth others see compared to a person’s emotional journey of how they got there. The mask symbolizes outward appearance to others. The butterflies and Asian Bleeding Heart flowers coming from the face symbolize transformation, personal growth, and passion. The galaxy inside the head represents endless imagination and the colorful sky background represents spirituality and limitless possibilities.

Chloe Lincycomb
Bubbly Thoughts
Sculpture, Acrylic, Mixed Media
Beulah Academy of Science
Art Teacher: Elizabeth Edwards
Grade 6

My art represents my thoughts, my thoughts are so strong that they fly like bubbles. Some thoughts stick while some leave, it’s a beautiful metaphor for overthinking and resembling a cup overfilling.

Jaycee Curovic
Hold it Together
Colored Pencil
Buddy Taylor Middle School
Art Teacher: Megan Kisner
Grade 8

My artwork was inspired by smudge art or painting as it would goes decently with the message I was trying to send. I responded to the theme by making a portrait of myselt displaying two separate emotions. The contrasting yellow, to symbolize tranquility and the purple to symbolize suffering. The large broken hourglass symbolizes time being lost, which plagues me very often. The blooming flower represents peacefulness, and ties in with the contrasting feelings.

Kristen Avila
For The Love of Thought
Colored Pencil, Collage, Marker
College Park Middle School
Art Teacher: Patricia Noel
Grade 6

My inspiration is thoughts the key part in all art. Seeing the exhibits theme I responded “I have to do this.” When seeing Salvador Dalí’s art I was attracted by his sense of art. In my art obsession takes over the thoughts in the mind as it loops it is always a little separated from the world. Disintegration is focused all around I’m art about losing yourself and strength being pushed to limits. The technique I used was collage surrealism.

Jase Imperato
Out of the Box
Photography
Davenport School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Kayley Mercedes Hernandez
Grade 7

My artwork is of my friend Monty climbing out of a picture frame. I created this by taking a photo of him, then going into the built-in computer editing app to change the filter to vintage. I then adjusted it to be a little brighter. The message I am trying to get across is that me and him like to goof around, so we used that to create a fun, hopefully contagious piece of artwork. My goals were to make the artwork, fun, alive, and an easy, silly topic of discussion.

Violette De Voe
Stitched into the Fabrics of Time
Acrylic, Colored Pencil, Mixed Media, Embroidery
Davenport School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Kyndil Gonzalez
Grade 7

Stitched Into the Fabrics of Time is a self-portrait based off the feeling of wanting to make a lasting impact on the world, but that time moves too quick. I decided on purple and pink colored pencils for my face, black acrylic paint for the background, and pink and purple thread for the finishing clocks.

Lily Westfall
I Think There’s Been a Glitch
Digital
Davenport School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Brenna Prewitt
Grade 8

I called my project “”I Think There’s Been A Glitch”” because I made my portraits look like they were glitching out. I wanted to go with the theme ‘layers’ for this project because it was surrealism. I really like how the glitching portraits turned out. I do think I could have made the white swirls and lines look like they were glitching out as well.

Abigail Abbatiello
The Yearning in the Yarn
Marker, Fiber Art
Edward W. Bok Academy North
Art Teacher: Cole Jaques
Grade 8

The main Idea of my piece is to symbolize my love for crochet as well as the deeper meaning of my broken family. My parents separated when I was young that being the reason for the crocheted children’s drawing, but even still, almost ten years later it affects my life everyday. I switch from one house to the other several times a week resulting in me never settling or ever having one singular place to call home.

Maheen Yousaf
My 2 Sides of Identity
Colored Pencil, Marker
Florida Virtual School
Art Teacher: Karen Sanchez
Grade 6

The month of Ramadan and my outside mood inspired me to make this artwork to show who I really am on both sides, home life and school life. I used the elements of shape and color to make it surreal and to show my inner self and who I really am. My artwork includes my portrait, stories, and personal symbols. I made this out of love for these holidays, Ramadan and Eid.

Heily Grillo
Open Windows
Digital
Hammocks Middle School
Art Teacher: Katherine Martínez
Grade 7

This piece shows that identity isn’t just one thing, it’s made up of lots of different parts inside a person. The way it looks balanced makes it feel organized, but the glitches and interruptions add tension and show how complicated our inner thoughts can be.

Kasey Auguste
Beauty Behind the Spirals
Charcoal
Highland Oaks Middle School
Art Teacher:. Anna Weiss
Grade 8

This project is about the inner beauty behind the facade. The flowers express my emotions, lessen anxiety, improve overall mental well being, boost energy, increase happiness, and have the power to connect with others. They also represents creativity and beauty in my artwork. The butterflies in the drawing teach me about life cycles and building a self confidence experience. Therefore, my artwork expresses “Beauty is not in the face, beauty is in a light in the heart.”

Madelyn Suarez
What Meets the Eye
Watercolor, Colored Pencil, Collage, Mixed Media
Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy
Art Teacher: Jennifer Bergendahl
Grade 8

My artwork “What Meets The Eye” was inspired by my favorite items and food, which helped show what I enjoy most. At first, I had no clue on what to create, but realizing I could draw my favorite thing sparked an idea. Salvador Dalí’s strange, weird, and creative art style also inspired me to make something fun and unexpected. In my artwork, I used college and symbolism to create a imaginative, colorful, surreal look.

Mia Roberts
Tides of Transformation
Colored Pencil
Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy
Art Teacher: Jennifer Bergendahl
Grade 8

I spent several weeks on this surrealist butterfly piece. I used colored pencils to create this piece and blend out the colors. The paint pallet represents how I love art, the lacrosse stick represents how I love sports and play lacrosse, the water represents how I like the beach, and the eyes resemble a human figure. Surrealist techniques I used were symbolism, dislocation, juxtaposition, and dream like. Overall, I had fun making this piece and learned a lot about colored pencils.

Kate Laskova
Fire Fed by World. Bloom Fed by Life
Colored Pencil
Imagine School at Town Center
Art Teacher: Holly Browne
Grade 8

I was inspired by the idea that even in chaos, life continues. I connected to the theme by showing a burning tree (disintegration) with blossoms still growing (reinvention). The fire also represents obsession, like the world feeding its own problems. Salvador Dalí inspired me to create a dream-like, unrealistic scene. I used contrast and symbolism, combining fire and flowers, to show both destruction and hope at the same time.

Isabella Pinilla
Rose and Time
Oil, Acrylic
Innovation Middle School
Art Teacher: Kristen Berk
Grade 7

The rose represents my middle name, and the falling petals show me getting older over time. The eyes coming out the cracks represent a different perspective forming as I grow older.

Angeline Zaragoza
Burning Emotion
Graphite, Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil
Inverness Middle School
Art Teacher: Roxana Sincore
Grade 8

I made this artwork to show mental health struggles with letting go of trauma and the things that are tying you down. The hand holding the match that is already burnt represents how once you hurt another person mentally, its hard to fix. The two wicks represent internalizing pain which only hurts worse. What inspired me was actually the month of may (mental health awareness month).

Alisha Ren
artist within
Acrylic, Ceramics
Jewett Middle Academy Magnet
Art Teacher: Caitlin Friedenstein
Grade 8

My artwork is a paint palette with many features such as a nose and a mouth. The big idea was that I would incorporate something about me with something I enjoy. Art is something I really like so I wanted to give the illusion that I am fused to my art materials. The mediums I used was clay and acrylic.

Cheznie Nelson
Taboo Hearts
Graphite, Acrylic
Lecanto Middle School
Art Teacher: Yara Santos
Grade 7

My art piece represents a matter of forbidden love. I feel that carrying around the burden of it can weigh down your heart emotionally more than anything else. It’s a constant want to be with the other, the feeling of yearning is delicate, yet it becomes an overwhelmingly large part of you. But coming to full contact or realization with it, the feeling stabs and burns.. It’s sad how true affection is shamed because of culture or gender, it’s ‘abnormal’.

Sydney Dalglish
See No Evil
Colored Pencil, Ink, Marker
Louise R. Johnson K-8 School of International Studies
Art Teacher: Gregory Corban
Grade 8
I was inspired to create my art piece ” See No Evil ” by the deep meaning of Spanish superstition on evil eyes. My art piece presented the exhibited theme through the girl shown covering her eyes with evil ones surrounding her. I responded to Salvador Dalí’s work by incorporating dream like aspects into my artwork. The “surreal self” are the negative things happening to the evil eyes. Lastly, the surrealist techniques I used were scale, transparency, and symbolism.

Solara Vang
Hanging of Self-doubt
Colored Pencil
Louise R. Johnson K-8 School of International Studies
Art Teacher: Gregory Corban
Grade 7

My art “Hanging of self-doubt” is a surreal representation of overthinking, and the exhibition theme helped me create a portrait that looked bizarre and fever dreamish, inspired by my own doubt and fear. Salvador Dalí’s work encouraged me to think uniquely of ways to portray the emotions in my art. The bright use of colors displays the dreamlike qualities of surreal works. I used many techniques in this piece including scale, dislocation, and symbolism.

Chu Lin
Unfolding Realities
Colored Pencil, Graphite
Osceola Creek Middle School
Art Teacher: Brooke Shainman
Grade 7

My art is inspired by Salvador Dalí’s artwork, like The Persistence of Memory. I responded to the theme “Surreal Self” by showing a different and imaginative version of myself. I responded to Salvador Dalí’s work by drawing the melted clock and the rhinoceros. One element I used to connect to “Surreal Self” is the rhinoceros. Some of the surrealist techniques I used are Unexpected Juxtaposition and Metamorphosis.

Alexandra Chao Chiu
Entangled
Colored Pencil
Okeeheelee Middle School
Art Teacher: Dolores (Loli) Blanchard
Grade 8

My artwork is influenced by Dalí’s hidden imagery. I explored identity through surreal transformations. His hypnotic dreamscapes inspired me to paint a figure intertwined within a willow tree, a symbol of endurance, restraint, and the burden of holding others unspoken emotions. Rooted in place, it carries what sometimes cannot be freed. Using double imagery and a dreamlike setting, I reveal suppressed feelings hidden beneath the stillness.

Sofia Cardenas
Color Bleeds Where Words Can’t
Acrylic
Okeeheelee Middle School
Art Teacher: Dolores (Loli) Blanchard
Grade 8

This work of art represents the emotions we feel when words fail to express them. The broken face symbolizes both what has been experienced and what remains hidden. The blended and mixed colors reflect how emotions intermingle, giving rise to frustration and unspoken feelings. Thus, the piece illustrates how outward appearance can differ from inner reality, and how chaos and vulnerability can also reveal strength.

Daenyka Ramos
The All Seeing Eye
Colored Pencil, Marker, Mixed Media
Parrish Charter Academy
Art Teacher: Olivia Thornton
Grade 6

My piece was inspired by my dreams and my future goal of becoming an aerospace engineer. All-Seeing Eye shows a dreamlike setting that immerses the viewer into a different world. My art responds to the theme, ‘The Surreal Self’, with many visual symbols–the snake represents my future, the apple is my goal, my dream is space, and the chain represents my physical connection to my future.

Reese Pernecky
As the Sun Sets
Acrylic
Pine View Middle School
Art Teacher: Carene Madak
Grade 8

The longer you look at Dalí’s work, the more you feel what he was trying to communicate. Almost as if you’re inside his mind. It inspired me to think of art as a communication deeper than words, so even if you don’t know me, now you know some parts of me, even if you don’t understand what those parts mean. That’s what this piece and surrealism mean to me.

Emma Mirabal
Endurance of Mind
Acrylic
Ramblewood Middle School
Art Teacher: Ana M. Rubin Reyes
Grade 6

This painting shows how everyone’s mind is different and able to grow. Just like trees, no two minds are the same because everyone has different experiences and challenges. Trees help the environment around them, and I believe our minds can too. When we think creatively and keep trying, our thoughts and actions can make a positive difference.

Adalynn Smith
Turtle
Colored Pencil
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Brandie King
Grade 8

My artwork was inspired by Dalí’s dreamlike style. I add realistic objects with bright colors that pop out to create a sense of strangeness. The portrait I made of myself is surrounded by elements that represent my thoughts and dreams. Some of the Surrealist techniques I use include dreamlike imagery, symbolism, automatism, and juxtaposition.

Roman Smith
Chaos
Colored Pencil
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Simoni Bonadies
Grade 8

My piece was inspired by the emotions I was experiencing during the making of Chaos. As you might presume by the title, my mind was in chaos, I would come up with great ideas only to have them outshined by a new one. The only compromise I could think of was combining different ideas together. I think it had a similar cluttered, messy, and surreal vibe such as Dalí’s. Clouds with trees, castles in the sky are examples of this chaos.

Ellie Rivera
Dancing with the Goat
Collage
Rowlett Middle Academy
Art Teacher: Brittany Braniger
Grade 6

The surreal techniques used for my project were distortion and exaggeration. I used distortion by making the goat have a horn and making it radiate with a rainbow. I used exaggeration by making the arm bigger than a normal sized one. I emphasized the flower as the sun with an eyeball and an arm coming out of it. I represented myself in the goat because I like to explore and expand my likings. I created my project by using collage.

Emilie Bergbom
Suffocated in Sound
Digital, Photography
Rowlett Middle Academy
Art Teacher: Brittany Braniger
Grade 8

In my digital artwork, I used surreal techniques by distorting and disorienting album covers to surround a central image of myself. I emphasized my presence by placing myself at the center and wearing colors that strongly contrast with the albums, making me the first thing viewers notice. I created the piece by digitally adding my photo, blending personal imagery with altered albums to create a visually striking and imaginative composition.

Amelia Graham
Flip to Page 364
Oil
Sebastian Middle School
Art Teacher: Kenneth Doenges
Grade 7

When I was a child I was temperamental, I got angry often and often lashed out at peers. That memory heavily inspires this art piece, where I sit with the physical representation of the alienation I faced due to this. I wanted to convey a feeling of volatility and absurdity. In this piece I explore my own past with these concepts.

Ella Grady
Times Relentless Struggle
Colored Pencil, Ink, Marker
Sebastian Middle School
Art Teacher: Kenneth Doenges
Grade 8

For my piece, I was inspired by psychic automatism and the struggle between how we feel time is running short till either death or the creature called insanity consumes us. Elements I used to connect my artwork with the topic of obsession, disintegration, and/ or reinvention is how in my piece it shows how one will succumb to death or a not so merciless death, no matter where you go on the sides of time.

Hannah Dauphiny
Listen to Me
Acrylic
Sunridge Middle School
Art Teacher: Brian Myers
Grade 8

“Listen to Me” was inspired by the feeling of being unheard and emotionally silenced. I responded to the surrealism theme by distorting the face and merging it with unnatural, symbolic elements. Influenced by Salvador Dalí, I embraced unsettling imagery and dreamlike exaggeration. The piece connects to the surreal self through hidden emotion and identity distortion. I used surreal techniques like abstraction, symbolism, and exaggerated, unrealistic forms to create discomfort and meaning.

Victoria Alvarez
Symphony of the Mind
Ink, Watercolor
Tequesta Trace Middle School
Art Teacher: Lourdes Jasper
Grade 8

My artwork is inspired by my love for art and nature, and how they bring both chaos and calm into balance. Influenced by Salvador Dalí, I explored surreal ideas through dreamlike imagery. The open head as a stage represents the mind, while floating books and symbols reflect thoughts and imagination. Using ink and watercolor, I combined contrast and movement to show how identity is shaped by both inner and outer experiences.

Elora Shouse
Eye Catching Sight
Graphite
Water Spring Middle School
Art Teacher: John Duckworth
Grade 6

Since elementary school, I have been obsessed with the ocean and eyes. The ocean is endless and so are eyes when you actually look at them. I brought in an octopus because I was inspired by a competition last year, when I drew an octopus for my robotics team. So, I thought about how my dreams look and went from there.

LilaBelle Houston
Key-hole World
Digital
Wedgefield School
Art Teacher: Ellen Kramer
Grade 7

The key-hole shows a view of another planet with new creatures and big fruit growing in the tree. Id like to go here one day.

Sofiana Laman
Where the Road Begins
Acrylic
Academy at the Lakes
Art Teacher: Mathew Paltoo
Grade 11

This piece explores the idea that life isn’t a path we follow, but one we create. The brush transforms an empty space into a winding road, symbolizing the power of choice, creativity, and direction. Set against a vast, star-filled sky, the artwork reflects both uncertainty and possibility reminding us that even when the future feels unknown, we are always shaping our own journey.

Joshua Moreno-Ramirez
Paranoia
Digital
Acceleration East High School
Art Teacher: Susan Ker
Grade 12

The “Surrealist Self” theme had me perplexed but inspired me to challenge myself to bring my idea to life. Humans too often care what others think of them. The mind can make up stories that aren’t true and can make a person paranoid. We can be deceived into thinking that others are always looking at us. The repetition of eyes in a dream-like setting, revolving around a little human, all came together to complete my surrealist idea.

Alicia Garcia
Dream Walk
Colored Pencil, Marker
Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of The Arts
Art Teacher: Gerald Obergon
Grade 9

The main inspiration for this piece was based of the ending of the 1968 Planet of the Apes film. Astronaut Taylor escapes ape captivity with Nova, only to find the ruined Statue of Liberty on a beach, realizing he traveled into Earth’s distant future rather than crash landing on an unknown planet. It is my favorite film.

Valerie Valenciano
Information Overload
Acrylic, Marker
Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of The Arts
Art teacher: Gerald Obergon
Grade 10

My piece was inspired by the idea of exploring the “surreal self” through imagination and emotion. I responded to the theme of surrealism by drawing myself with my brain popping out, symbolizing how thoughts and creativity can’t be contained. Influenced by surrealist ideas, I used exaggeration and unexpected imagery along with bright colors to make the piece feel dreamlike and expressive.

Gracelyn Sovel
Beasts of Balance
Acrylic
Bay High School
Art Teacher: Amanda Hunt
Grade 10

“Beasts of Balance” explores surrealism through personal symbolism and identity. The wolf represents virtue, while the buck embodies vice. The sun reflects Earth’s light, guiding growth and clarity, while the moon reveals the darker, hidden side of existence. An arrow unites these opposing forces, as red and green hues express duality. Surrounded by fog, the beasts feel both trapped and mystical. Their half-animal, half-smoke forms evoke emotion and wonder, creating timeless, yin-yang balance.

Isabella DeLora
Hooked
Colored Pencil, Mixed Media, Watercolor
Cape Coral High School
Art Teacher: Amy Smith
Grade 12

The inspiration for this piece is the dangers of life. The child represents innocence, happiness, and love. The hooks and fish around represent the opposite. This emphasizes the dangers of the world, the hooks that pull our young lives away. The surrealism technique mainly used was juxtaposition with the fishing lures, which is the symbolism of the innocence being ripped away.

Hannah Jolie Hagemeister
Time Changes You
Colored Pencil, Acrylic, Watercolor
Cape Coral Highschool
Art Teacher: Amy Smith
Grade 9

My artwork was inspired by my move from Germany to America and how time changed me. For the theme Surreal Self, I showed my old and new self. The heart-clock represents that time is always with me. Floating memories (bubbles) show past and lost happiness. Like Salvador Dalí, I used surreal symbols and dreamlike images.

Helen Rodriguez Valderrama
The Blooming of Emotions
Colored Pencil
Celebration High School
Art Teacher: Jerylin Florimonte
Grade 12

My artwork comes from my reflections on life and the emotions that have shaped it. I responded to the exhibit’s theme by portraying my face as the petals of a flower. Each petal represents a different emotional chapter in my life, while the spirals in my eyes express the ever-cyclical nature of life that I’ve moved through. Inspired by Salvador Dalí, I used transformation to deepen the symbolic meaning of my Surreal Self.

Kristin Brought
Withering in the Wind
Oil Pastel
Celebration High School
Art Teacher: Judith Maiorana Landin
Grade 11

Withering in the Wind is inspired by the concept of psychological decay and the feelings of social fatigue. I depict myself as a wilting flower whose falling petals reflect declining mental energy. As the flower looks off into the distance, she personifies the surreal self and detachment caused by emotional exhaustion. My artwork is influenced by Dalí’s dissolving figures and structures in collapse. Texture creates tension between the petals’ softness and the slowly vanishing flower.

Shakira Ali
Chimera
Acrylic, Colored Pencil, Ink, Watercolor
Celebration High School
Art Teacher: Judith Maiorana Landin
Grade 11

Beginnings and endings and the unsettling state in between inspires my artwork. Chimera reflects my longing for parts of myself that do not fit together. She echoes my internal chaos and self-imposed emotional restraint. The hands, her own hands, reach towards her fantasies. I am moved by Dalí’s large, peaceful, and open skies, and I created a space where Chimera’s dreams and desires can live.

Mira Toumi
My Funky Friday
Mixed Media, Oil Pastel, Acrylic Paint Pens, Ballpoint Pens
Celebration High School
Art Teacher: Jerylin Florimonte
Grade 11

“My Funky Friday” artwork was inspired by the different identities I reveal as my Friday unfolds. I expressed this through the juxtaposition of contrasting elements to reflect the unpredictable nature of my personal experiences. The realistic and unrealistic elements of my artwork, such as the calm scenery and the volcano hat, highlight the contrast between chaos and peace within me. Like Salvador Dalí, I used personal symbols to create deeper meaning and express my emotions and creativity.

Zoey Hale
Pierrot Vampire’s Idiosyncrasy
Charcoal, Colored Pencil, Ink, Marker, Mixed Media, Watercolor
Citrus High School
Art Teacher: Kelly Bermudez
Grade 12

I thought of something that defines me, Clowns and jesters, hiding behind makeup, forced laughter and fun. When underneath is inner turmoil. I love vampires, and I love what they mean in a metaphorical stance. So I combined the two, drawing myself in my favorite media having no color and a melancholy look, when all around me is color full of laughter and fun then it all bleeds to painful black.

Hector M. Rondon G.
Confessions of a Sad Mask
Colored Pencil, Acrylic, Ink
Coconut Creek High
Art Teacher: Jennifer Goss
Grade 11

My inspiration for this piece was the feeling of being ugly and not “fitting in”. I feel personally connected to “The Surreal Self” theme since I’ve always wanted to share my experience of self-hatred. I responded to Dalí’s work with motivation, especially in collaboration with Disney’s short film “”Destino.”” All of the elements represent elements of self-harm, including the blood, mask, scissors, and the hanging man. The surrealist technique I used was displacement.

Ava Shamir
Wings
Acrylic, Colored Pencil, Graphite, Marker, Feathers
Cooper City High School
Art Teacher: Rachel Valdes
Grade 11

This self-portrait scrutinizes my identity, peeling back layers of the self. The owl mask symbolizes the wisdom and maturity pressured onto me as an eldest daughter, effectively concealing unwanted vulnerability. Below, carnivorous butterflies represent the painful hypocrisy of longing for a lost naivety that now gnaws at my psyche. Against a dark, muted background, the chaotic composition mirrors my internal struggle to remain grounded amidst creeping anxiety and the slow, heavy ebb of grief.

Lily Royer
Blooming Through the Wound
Acrylic
Cooper City Highschool
Art Teacher: Rachel Valdes
Grade 12

This work explores growth through discomfort. I portray myself as a tree, digging into my own flesh to show both self-inflicted pain and the choice to seek challenge. Glittering wounds suggest that pain can transform into something meaningful. The cracked landscape reflects inner struggle, while a lush bush symbolizes support from loved ones. An owl represents past influences that linger. Ultimately, the piece shows growth requires discomfort and guidance from those who push us forward.

Jimena Olguin Flores
Liquid Identity
Colored Pencil, Marker
Cypress Bay High School
Art Teacher: April Beckenhauer Pino
Grade 11

My artwork explores the confusion and emotional complexity of being a teenager and trying to understand who you are. During adolescence, identity often feels unstable as people, expectations, and experiences constantly influence you. The flowing lines and distorted features symbolize how thoughts, emotions, and outside influences can blur the boundaries of self. This work expresses the teenage years as a time of uncertainty, self discovery, and transformation.

Carly Dixon
Ghoughshie
Digital
Davenport High School
Art teacher: Joshua Steele
Grade 10

I was inspired by a time when I was younger, and my mother had a betta fish. I used the surrealist elements of juxtaposition and scale by placing the fish, flowers, and a dreamlike version of myself within the fishbowl. The title, ‘Ghoughshie” is a surreal play on the word “fishy” using alternate sounds from the English language.

Brooke Kelso
Technology’s Pollution
Colored Pencil
Deland High School
Art Teacher: Bryan Carson
Grade 9

In this artwork, I was inspired by how technology is sometimes described as “polluting the world,” so I put different technology in black and white scattered across the colorful beach to show that. I added objects that weren’t usually in a natural area, similarly to Dalí’s artworks. This artwork also represents my care for the wellbeing of the environment. The scattered around technology also represents how I’ve noticed others and myself using computers on a daily basis for school.

Gianna Miele
Bitter Sweet Dreams
Mixed Media
Dr. Phillips High School
Art Teacher: Abigail Callaway
Grade 12

This piece transforms reality into psychological imagery. Inspired by Dalí’s dreamlike distortions, the merging of two faces explores the nature of identity. The eyes in the background symbolize subconscious awareness and self-observation. This work explores the connection between inner thoughts, emotional tension, and one’s sense of self.

Eva Rocha
Dark Reality
Charcoal
Dr. Phillips High School
Art Teacher: Abigail Callaway
Grade 12

This artwork represents how one’s own corruption and self-preservation bring them to the brink of insanity, no longer understanding who they truly are. The young woman’s face is being clawed at by her own hand, she wants to take her fleshly desires away from her that cause her suffering, but cannot because she is human. Her eyes are no longer human, she looks through the viewer, look for innocents that she once had.

Khamil Alvarez Arroyo
Passage of Time through the Landscape of Music
Collage, Digital, Photography
East Ridge High School
Art Teacher: Amy Brown
Grade 10

I was inspired by Disney and Dalí’s 2003 short film “Destino” and my deep connection to music to create this piece. I explore how music engulfs the senses and paints emotional landscapes through layered sound. I photographed and combined images into a digital collage in Canva. The sunset reflects sound’s vast colors, while sheet music masks symbolize identity within music. I dance with my guitar in a melodic dream, encompassing the healing dance between my body and soul.

Azaliah Z. Baptiste
Consumed by a Firewall
Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Collage, Acrylic, Marker
Florida Virtual School
Art Teacher: Trevis Williams
Grade 10

This self-portrait is about seeking acceptance from the world (or your family). The stickers symbolize my personality and identity. The word(s) in the background are some statements that still float around in my mind, yet never seems to be spoken clearly. The fire symbolizes the doubt in my mind. My heart is red to symbolizes pain and blue symbolizes sadness but yet a sense of hope that things will get better. (Circumstantial Wallflowers – Sushi Soucy)

Alexandria Lewis
Visions of You
Acrylic
Florida Virtual School
Art Teacher: Jamie Phillips
Grade 10

Surrealism itself inspires me because it lets others see into your mind. I painted a beautiful world that appears to be looking into a world that is dark and disturbed but is disintegrating. It connects to my personal story because my past really left a mark on me. The longer I stay in Florida, all of those marks and scars are slowly disappearing into something more beautiful.

Avia Long
Eye Wanna Go Home
Mixed Media
Florida Virtual School
Art Teacher: Mavy Torres
Grade 11

When I first read the theme, this piece came straight to my mind. I decided to depict the parts of my childhood that still linger within me. I find it hard to remember my childhood, but I’ve always had strong feelings towards it, this portrait helped me convey these feelings. Salvador Dalí always hid his true feelings within his surrealist paintings, something I deeply admired. I hope that in “Eye Wanna Go Home” I have achieved the same thing.

Caitlyn Keith
Constructed Identity
Graphite
Grace Homeschool Connections
Art Teacher: Ashley Monastra
Grade 9

Viewing her identity through a surrealist lens has shifted how the artist understands her story. She is an individual, built piece by piece like scaffolding through life’s experiences. The deep effect her family has had forms a crown of support within this structure. From that foundation, vines and flowers emerge, symbolizing growth and transformation. Through these relationships, she has been able to evolve and blossom into her own person.

Sam Johnson
The Artist
Acrylic, Colored Pencil, Marker
Horizon High School
Art Teacher: Christine Murphy
Grade 12

This artwork is a self-portrait I made to visualize my art style as a whole, and as a way to show self-expression through my art. I was inspired by surrealism, and I wanted to create a piece that symbolizes a “dream like” feel with the image of me painting myself, and using the mirror in the background to represent self-reflection of who I am as an artist.

Keylin Alvarez Díaz
The Observer/ El Observador
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Ink, Colored Pencil
Jonh I. Leonard High School
Art Teacher: Christopher Burke
Grade 12

In the dream world, an all-seeing eye, a claw holding a clock, symbolizing how we try to manipulate time. Fantastic creatures surround it, with the body of an owl.They symbolize wisdom and the search for knowledge, while the peacock feathers on their tails are a sign of pride and ostentation.

Leah Jarochym
Empty Skull
Mixed Media, Marker, Colored Pencil
Jupiter Community High School
Art Teacher: Sarah Knudtson
Grade 12

I was very inspired by Dalí’s use of double images as well as the dark theme of skulls. I used a monochromatic color palette and a lonely, isolated setting to portray my occasional feeling of one-way thinking. This is a representation of something that I struggle with, which is why I related to the theme of surrealist self. I used my favorite colors to connect this to something I’ve had a relationship with since childhood.

Sienna Lampariello
Cat Worshipper
Marker, Acrylic, Colored Pencil
Jupiter Community High School
Art Teacher: Sarah Knudtson
Grade 12

I created this work as a representation of what consumes my heart, which is love for an animal dear to me. I was inspired by Dalí’s use of scale and dreamlike setting to bring to life a world where cats are superior to all. I really connected with “Surreal Self” by painting myself as a mere follower of my cat who reigns supreme over my entire world. This represents the care I have for my pet.

River Hoff-Ball
River
Colored Pencil, Collage, Marker, Mixed Media, Ink
Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation
Art Teacher: Denise Munoz
Grade 11

My surrealist self was inspired by Salvador Dalí, reflecting my identity through merging my diverse interests. The space ship labeled “LEARN FOR COLLEGE” crashing into me symbolizes how college is an automatic, systematic ideology engraved in my mind. Through blending cartoonish and realism styles, I contrast my seriousness to my whimsical nature. These elements depict how I myself am a living surrealist piece, where the varying interests merge into one beautiful, unified art that defines me.

Shara Bustos Garcia
A World with Color
Acrylic, Marker
Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation
Art Teacher: Juliana M. Frain
Grade 10

My artwork represents that color, art, music, and nature are essential parts of my life, and that when the world overwhelms me, I can always find an escape in those things. It also expresses that when I feel trapped, these are the things that motivate me to keep moving forward and make me happy, allowing me to feel free to express my ideas and emotions.

Giselle Garcia
The Soup Pool
Digital
Lecanto High School
Art Teacher: Jessie Leasure
Grade 9

This project came to me while I was eating miso soup. I began by drawing the bowl and the ladle. Inside the ladle I drew people playing in the liquid and that is when the idea of a massive pool in a bowl arose. My project mirrors the work of Dalí because it feels like something you would have imagined while you were sleeping.

Lily Wojtkowski
Mirroring the Flock
Watercolor
Manatee School for the Arts
Art Teacher: Melissa Aldan
Grade 10

The constant urge to fit in as much as possible, to stay a sheep amongst a herd just as attempt to not be noticed anymore than the others. I used to struggle with not wanting to be noticed, to fly under the radar, to this day I still feel this. (Though I’m working on it.) I used a sheep flock to symbolize following the groups actions or stereotypes, even if they don’t fit you. With the middle sheep trying to hold a form that others will accept, it’s true essence being captured in its eye.

Javier Mirabal
Head in the Clouds
Ink, Marker
Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Art Teacher: Jorge Del Valle
Grade 10

This ink drawing examines the fragile boundary between inner consciousness and outward identity. Inspired by surreal distortions of Salvador Dalí, the figure exposed skull and watchful eye suggest perception as both revelation and burden. I create tension and motion with repetitive line work and use an unsettling smile to create ambiguity. Questioning whether we witness vulnerability, madness, or performance within this chaotic nature of self-awareness.

Amanda Pina
A Ticket to Escape
Acrylic, Marker
Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Art Teacher: Rosa Ansoleaga
Grade 11

My piece, “A ticket to Escape” is a version of my dreams. It portrays the time passing by as my imagination runs wild. It flips my reality to my very own personal sanctuary, if only for a moment. Our minds is the only place that enables us to soar up without restriction.

Rosmeri Gabote
Secret Self
Colored Pencil
Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Art Teacher: Brian Reedy
Grade 11

I wanted to make all the colors pop in this piece. I cut out strips of paper and colored patterns on it to add interest to the second head.

Camila Guzman
My Metamorphosis
Printmaking
Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Art Teacher: Brian Reedy
Grade 11

My block print is a self portrait linocut with an exposed portion showing my inner anatomy and a swarm of flying insects, representing a kafka-esque state of change, something uncontrollable and unnerving.

Elizabeth Caballero
They Live With Me
Colored Pencil, Ink
Miami Beach Senior High School
Art Teacher: Grace Cox
Grade 11

This work was inspired off of personal experience and the art of surrealism. There is both objective and subjective context related to the art. The goal was to make the insects feel 3-D, and the person flat to contrast, so they would pop. Everything is orderly, but nothing is right.

Mila Ley Petkovic
Vulnerable Moments
Colored Pencil, Ink, Marker, Mixed Media
Miami Beach Senior High School
Art Teacher: Osvaldo Samper
Grade 12

This work examines the growing vulnerability we experience under the public eye, specifically in social media platforms. The desire to document one’s entire life online reaches a point in which safety is questioned. The figure is captured in her most vulnerable state to display the constant presence of online publications and invisible seeming people on the other side of the screen, depicting an exaggerated and dystopian future for humanity.

Brianna Toledo Quiceno
The Split Reality of the Subconscious Mind
Mixed Media, Digital, Collage
NeoCity Academy
Art Teacher: Geoffrey Vonrentzell
Grade 9

This piece of work demonstrates the duality of possibilities and imagination that can appear when it comes to our subconscious mind, from drowning in so much emotion and negativity that you may not realize is there, to the freedom of curiosity and exploration that you have had deep inside of you all along.

David Guerra Wittendorfer
The Public Eye
Digital
NeoCity Academy
Art Teacher: Alvin Olivo
Grade 9

My inspiration for this piece comes from the standards we set ourselves in the age of social media, touching on how we constantly think about how fast embarrassing moments spread, making us feel scrutinized, specifically at our lowest points, using a psychedelic setting, setting us into a state of falling, trying to reach for help, but having the instinct of being under constant surveillance from the public.

Natalie Bolte
Cracked Reality
Oil Pastels
North Marion High School
Art Teacher: Gloria Sed
Grade 11

I was inspired by how Salvador Dalí incorporated psychology into his work. I appreciate how he mixes realism with unreal or dreamlike details. I chose to create a self-portrait that realistically looks like me but uses color and linework expressively. I made the portrait appear as if cracked and broken, missing a piece where the nose and mouth would be. I did this to represent my underlying insecurities.

Jenna Quach
Dinner is Served
Colored Pencil
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Chloe DuBois
Grade 11

This work captures the juxtaposition of an everyday event, dinner, with a Surrealist twist. I wanted to take ordinary things that you see and interact with every day like food but add the characteristics of Surrealism.

Elizabeth Hodge
Untitled
Printmaking, Mixed Media
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Felecia DeSiano
Grade 9

This mixed media, printed portrait represents my current life. Each day is the same, with minor changes in small details. I was inspired by the Surrealistic theme of juxtaposition, placing the faces in an arrangement where they directly relate to one another.

Madison Proctor
Unicorn of the Deep Seas
Colored Pencil, Mixed Media, Watercolor
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Marianne Robertson
Grade 12

This piece is a mixture of three animals: a narwhal, a shrimp, and an axolotl. Together, it creates an odd creature that despite its strangeness, holds beauty in itself and its colors. Watercolor paints and some mixed in acrylic were used as the base of the painted work. Colored pencils were used over top to define and bring my creation to life.

Tristan Ragland
Sinister Citrus
Colored Pencil, Watercolor, Acrylic
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Marianne Robertson
Grade 12

For this artwork, I was tasked with creating an exquisite corpse, where the head, torso, and legs of three different creatures/characters were combined into one artwork. For this piece, I decided to combine a lemon for the head, snail for the torso, and centipede for the legs. I wanted to lean into the horror aspect of my drawing, focusing on exaggerating the textures of the separate parts and making it look as though it were stitched together.

Jensen McClendon
Unraveling
Acrylic, Yarn
Ohana Institute
Art Teacher: Beth Roberts
Grade 11

My painting represents the theme of “surreal self“ by portraying myself as a yarn figure cut and stretched in half. I used yarn in this piece because I love to craft with it and because yarn, like mental health, can be stretched too thin and break. My head is depicted as a hollow shell containing stars that represent the things I care most about: friends, family, hobbies and such.

Karla Polanco Sanchez
Drowning in Thought
Ceramics, Sculpture, Mixed Media
Olympia High School
Art Teacher: Patricia Norton
Grade 12

This piece explores the suffocating anxiety caused by my experience with chronic illness. I used the red wire to show how intrusive thoughts physically bind and constrict me, turning my own mind into a cage. It captures the surreal feeling of being submerged by a “self” that is trying to stay safe, but ends up trapped by its own hyper-vigilance. I wanted to show the moment where the thoughts meant to protect my body actually start to overwhelm it.

Kylie Thach
The Exploration of the Subconscious Mind
Oil Pastel
Parrish Community High School
Art Teacher: Cary Jones
Grade 12

My piece is a reflection of my journey through the exploration of my subconscious. I was heavily moved and inspired by Dalí’s surrealistic style and bold symbolism, so I myself chose to be bold as well and draw outside of my comfort zone.

Olivia Drobny
Open Up
Acrylic
Parrish Community High School
Art Teacher: Lana Rosamilia
Grade 9

My work explores vulnerability. I aim to reveal what is usually hidden, both physically and emotionally. The viewer gazes upon a raw, exposed body, including freckles, stretch marks, and body hair. This moment doesn’t fit traditional beauty but is essential to who we are. I hope this work helps others accept imperfections instead of hiding them. What might seem uncomfortable to some viewers is intentional, it challenges the idea that bodies and identities must look perfect or ideal.

Jayanna Andre
Screen-ager
Photography
Parrish Community High School
Art Teacher: Kelly Schweers
Grade 12

“Screen-ager” shows how attached teens are to their phones. By wrapping a phone to the subject’s head, it represents how technology feels like part of who we are and how we think. The image is meant to look a little uncomfortable and extreme, showing how hard it is to disconnect and how screens can take over our attention and daily lives.

Taylor Teague
There ID No Escaping Yourself
Colored Pencil, Marker
Pine View School
Art Teacher: Louis Miller
Grade 11

This piece represents Freud’s parts of the personality (ID, ego, superego) as visuals. ID, contained by the ego, the maze, is trying to take the easy way out. The superego is pointing out the wrongdoing. There are several Dalí elements, like the setting, him and his father, and a piano. This also connects with modernity by including a phone, AirPods, and a record. This piece was inspired by Dalí’s piece with Gala and Abraham Lincoln, in the way it looks different up close and from farther away.

Julia Gjinali
DRIP
Colored Pencil, Watercolor
Riviera Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Christine Prieto-Beers
Grade 10

I was inspired by the intensity of physical sensations that we all experience. I turned a nosebleed into a focal point that holds “my surreal self”. By submerging my face into deep red blood, I personalized my painting in an eerie way. This connects to my identity by showing how a single drop can reflect a person’s whole world.

Ashley Capetillo-Morales
Starlight
Colored Pencil, Graphite, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Acrylic, Marker
Robert Morgan Senior High
Art Teacher: Milagros Gonzalez
Grade 12

Surrealism meant something out of the ordinary, something that held a message despite its cryptic nature. I like to believe my piece does the same. While pertaining to my choice of oddities of stars along the expanse of my body, I like to believe it portrays a reflection of oneself, embracing their true nature despite all true struggle to keep their light behind closed doors.

Celeste Rivas
Trapped Behind the Door
Colored Pencil
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Simoni Bonadies
Grade 12

My artwork was inspired by Vicent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. The drawing shows people that two or more personalities shouldn’t be concealed. The door should be opened and free. The Dalí side of the work expresses the yellow-gold personality, meant to feel happy and joyful. The blue meant calmness and hope, even without a face. The bright red ribbon represents the temper you have to hold. All personalities are precious and should be cherished with the people you love and more.

AJ Adams
Machinal Dependency
Colored Pencil, Marker
Seabreeze High School
Art Teacher: Kasondra Williams
Grade 10

My biggest inspiration for this project was the sudden integration of generative AI into daily life. It’s the constant sight of AI-generated content around every corner and knowing it smears the very idea of artistic integrity. This piece is my depiction of the brutal feeling when seeing AI pushed into human passions, despite the soul it requires to make art. I used techniques like dislocation, symbolism, and juxtaposition to align with the surrealist theme.

Gianna Cicalese
Reflection from a Distance
Colored Pencil, Graphite
Seabreeze High School
Art Teacher: Kasondra Williams
Grade 11

My piece explores concepts of identity as being fragmented and distant. The graphite elements are rooted in realism, while the colors evoke themes of myths. The melting demonstrates erosion of origin and the subsequent recollection, drawing inspiration from Dalí. The mirror symbolizes introspection upon the present. Drawing inspiration from my own adoption from China and mythology, I express my struggle with emotional distance and cultural dislocation from the past.

Sophia Giorgianni
The Self Portrait of Woolard
Mixed Media, Sculpture, Cardboard, Watercolor
Seabreeze High School
Art Teacher: Christine Colby
Grade 12

“The Self Portrait Of Woolard” is a portrait inspired relief sculpture of a black sheep named “Woolard” who represents myself and my struggle to follow my passions. The overall exhausted look of the sheep shows that Woolard does not care for his own appearance or the state of his life for that matter. The mood of the artwork is inspired by Dalí’s moody self-portraits, especially Self-portrait (Figueres).

Amanda Rivera Perez
Still, She Grows
Mixed Media
Sebring High School
Art Teacher: Steven Vandam
Grade 12

This artwork represents my desire to one day become a mother. But because of medical issues, that might not happen to me. But still, I pray and hope that one day God may allow me to have children of my own despite the difficulties. This piece represents my hope and perseverance regardless of the possibilities.

Chloei Ou
Inner Peace
Colored Pencil
Sebring High School
Art Teacher: Kristy Harris
Grade 10

For my artwork, I wanted to show my surreal self by drawing a magical place. To create this dream-like piece, I drew myself sleeping peacefully alongside a tiger to depict inner peace and self-identity. My piece mainly focuses on tigers, my Chinese zodiac sign, representing how important my culture is to me. During the Lunar New Year, it is a practice to wish prosperity, wealth, and a fulfilling life to your family. So I chose to draw tiger lilies as their vibrant colors symbolize those wishes.

Madelyn Baxter
Don’t Choke on your Words
Mixed Media
Sebring High School
Art Teacher: Steven Vandam
Grade 11

The feeling of coping with a mental disorder through art and how you can feel that your disorder can define you as a symbol. I chose to use paint brushes and other art mediums being thrown up to symbolize my experience of only being known for my art and only being able to communicate my struggles through the art.

Camilla Rostran
Change
Graphite, Collage
Somerset Preparatory Academy Homestead
Art Teacher: Samuel Junco Montoya
Grade 11

The artwork shows a version of my child self coming out of the mouth of my current self. This choice was made to symbolize that regardless of how much I might have changed over the years, that version of me is the core essence that drives who I am now.

Kerem Goker
Portal Into the Future
Digital
South Walton High School
Art Teacher: Rhonda McEnany
Grade 12

“Portal Into the Future” is a digital art piece inspired by the distortion Salvador Dalí used in his artwork. I applied distortion on my face Furthermore, I used dislocation and scale distortion in the faces located on my shoulder and chest. The art piece represents a time portal that extends from the past to the future. The stars in the background represent my dream of becoming a singer and a performer.

Vienna Fletcher
Petals With Despair
Collage, Colored Pencil, Marker
South Walton High School
Art Teacher: Rhonda McEnany
Grade 10

“Petal with Despair” is inspired by Salvador Dalí’s Surrealism. It is a Prismacolor, thin tipped sharpie, and collage art piece that shows a juxtaposition between hope and despair. The cracks represent the bad emotions we keep inside. The flowers symbolize something good in life like love and hope. The combination of decay with liveliness reflects how both bad and good things coexist. I used the reversal law of nature by having the sky crack, which normally wouldn’t.

Sofia Melnikova
Corvus Vulpes
Watercolor, Ink
Spanish River High School
Art Teacher: Ann Saakian
Grade 11

The work depicts an unequal and acute dissociation, as well as an inability to unite personalities into one, because each is different and each requires its own time of attention, but this time also requires a quick connection and awareness of oneself as a full-fledged person.

Caroline Sandnes
Go to Fiji
Acrylic, Colored Pencil, Ink
Spanish River High School
Art Teacher: Florencia Soto
Grade 9

In my piece, the flowers and water around the wave symbolize nature and growth. I wanted to show how surfing can connect people to new places and experiences. Dreaming is a way of traveling too. I merged the two to represent freedom, exploration and the beauty of the ocean. It also shows how travel and nature can inspire people to explore the world.

Miel Lopez
Deep Root
Watercolor
Sunlake High School
Art Teacher: Jill Andrea Hallauer
Grade 12

This piece shows a mix of reality and imagination. I used familiar objects in unusual ways to create a dreamlike feeling. It’s meant to make viewers notice little details and imagine their own story while looking at it.

Colleen Turner
The Distance Between Selves
Colored Pencil, Marker
T. Dewitt Taylor Middle High
Art Teacher: Jillian Janiec Larriviere
Grade 11

This piece represents my thoughts about mortality, growing up, and how as time changes you have to change with it. The theme of this competition really inspired me because it allows me to be creative and explore deep topics I often think about. The door on the right was inspired by a dream I had a long time ago and represents lingering thoughts of death which connects with the dream like part of the theme.

Amiya Pauyo
Reflection of Me
Ceramics
Tohopekaliga High School
Art Teacher: Amanda Sullivan
Grade 11

I wanted to showcase my body, which is my biggest insecurity (my stomach), combined with concepts I love, such as my future career in healthcare (a band-aid), music notes for my love of jazz band, and my affection for the ocean (yellow coral), to make my body something I love, to make it beautiful.

Isabella Oliveira
Curated Persona
Photography
Tohopekaliga High School
Art Teacher: Kayla Helmus
Grade 10

The theme “the surreal self” allowed me to express not being authentic. The feeling of acting a different way and masking your “real” self inspired me. Dalí’s work intrigues me, with each one of his pieces feeling like they portray an elaborate and hidden message. Turning emotions into masks allowed me to communicate a message through a surrealist style to show we don’t just fake an appearance to others but also feel unreal within ourselves.

Valery Escalona Luque
Drifting Thoughts
Acrylic
Tohopekaliga High School
Art Teacher: Jackelyn Adkins
Grade 10

This self-portraits blends surrealism and symbolism to explore how the artist experiences awareness, transformation, and the pull of the subconscious. Enormous eyes emerge from the sand near the shoreline, acting as a watchful symbols of self-observation and heightened perception, while delicate butterflies rest on them, representing change, fragility, and moments of growth, Above, floating clocks hang from a barren tree, suggesting a complicated of shifting relationship with time

Gavin O’Brien
An Out of Body Experience
Digital, Photography
Trinity Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Caberbe Joseph
Grade 12

This image explores the tension between presence and distortion, using light as both subject and disruptor. The glowing red form suggests a human figure, yet motion and blur dissolve its boundaries, challenging clarity and identity. I was drawn to how light can obscure as much as it reveals, turning the familiar into something ambiguous and emotional. The photograph captures a fleeting moment where form, light, and movement intersect, inviting viewers to question perception.

Azzurra Marchese
Antalya
Sculpture
Trinity Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Vadim Malkin
Grade 10

AI and technology saturate our world, and robots are well past the horizon. Antalya (“break of day”) may possess human qualities, with a body constructed from chicken wire, skin made from discarded gadgets and wires, and inside, a red light that throbs, mimicking a heartbeat. But trapped in an ageless cycle of advancement and repair, she is a striking and haunting reminder that imitation is not replacement. Many things can be replicated. Humanity isn’t one of them.

Maiori Butz
Emerging Self
Ceramics
Trinity Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Vadim Malkin
Grade 12

Emerging Self was inspired by personal growth and stands as a reminder to persevere. The Lotus flower represents persistence and never giving up even in challenging conditions as it is a flower that grow in muddy water. The hand was referenced from my own as a personal connection. This piece was made to show the beauty of learning and growing.

Pierce Bryan
Internal Atake
Colored Pencil
Trinity Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Irina Ashcraft
Grade 11

Internal Atake is a play on words that is inspired by Eternal Atake, one of my favorite music albums of all time. Lil Uzi Vert, the creator of the album, has always been my favorite music artist, and I thought that mixing his unique album cover art style with a more realistic portrait of myself would be a cool way of combining some of my passions.

Emma Krueger
Daydream
Oil
Trinity Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Irina Ashcraft
Grade 10

I love the beach, the ocean, and swimming, and I wanted to showcase this in my piece. Most summers, I go with my family somewhere we can snorkel, for which I followed the theme of stories and symbols in the “surreal self”. The bold colors symbolize the biodiversity within the sea and give the piece a more dream-like quality.

Kirsten Fink
In My Own World
Colored Pencil, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
Vanguard High School
Art Teacher: Tasha Strigle
Grade 12

This piece represents how involved I am with myself. To show how my life revolves around singular things individually, while still being myself and trying my best to please those around me while trying to fulfill my own personal pleasures. This artwork is something to show I am more than just my appearance.

Ariana Green
Stage Five
Mixed Media, Collage
Wekiva High School
Art Teacher: Michaela Bryant
Grade 12

This piece represents the desire to put memories together to remember the face of someone who’s passed. I used multiple mediums, such as a collage of ripped paper and vibrant colors to create a face, but it isn’t enough to make up the real face of the person.

Kailani Legarreta
Identity Erosion
Ink, Colored Pencil, Marker
Wekiva High School
Art Teacher: Michaela Bryant
Grade 12

My work captures the gradual loss of Puerto Rican culture from one generation to the next. It depicts a Vejigante, a folkloric character in my culture, often seen at festivals and celebrations. The Vejigante represents the essence of my culture, with each step taken, the suit melts. Every step is a new generation following in their footsteps, yet they are left with a lesser vision than those before. It represent the loss of culture and feeling like a fake through time.

Akeeliah Mclennon
Always Watching
Digital
West Orange High School
Art Teacher: Serena Carton
Grade 10

This self portrait is meant to represent my struggle with trusting people, even the ones closest to me. The patterns on my face are inspired by the camouflage on animals like butterflies. Some patterns look like eyes, this makes it seem like they’re always watching even when resting.

Stefanni Cisneros
The sadness of leaving your childhood behind
Colored Pencil, Acrylic, Watercolor
West Port High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Carter
Grade 10

My artwork represents the sadness of leaving your childhood. A personal experience of mine is not liking the thought of growing up because of the responsibility it takes. The toys shown are a symbol for the tragic feeling of saying goodbye to your childhood as I chose pastel colors to represent having an exciting time being a kid. I drew dark elements such as insects and cracks, to show sorrowfulness. This artwork shows some toys I had as a kid.

Mia Iracce
Skies of Lies
Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil, Gouache
Western High School
Art Teacher: Nicole Lombardi
Grade 10

I am a High School sophomore who just began studying art this year and have largely taught myself. I am currently enrolled in Honors Drawing and Painting, where I continue to developing. I Especially enjoy painting and working with gouache. This painting is mixed-media including gouache, watercolor, color pencils, colored graphite, acrylic gel pens. Creating this piece gave me a great deal of motivation to continue pursuing the arts and helped me realize what I am capable of.

Ava Martinez-Dubouchet
Childlike Wonder
Watercolor, Oil Pastel
Westminster Christian
Art Teacher: April Sharpe-Shirk
Grade 12

This piece explores how everyone still has their inner child within them, and that their childhood shaped who they are today. Also, how reminiscing or looking at old photos can transport you back to how you saw the world when you were a kid. The background is supposed to represent a child’s drawing, and I purposely employed oil pastel to symbolize a child’s crayon marks.

Damaya Cantillo-Pallares
Echoes of the Cephalopod
Acrylic, Collage, Posca Acrylic Marker
Westminster Christian
Art Teacher: April Sharpe-Shirk
Grade 12

This surreal self-portrait translates the “Creation of Adam into a deep sea idea of self-discovery. By bringing the young octopus to the elder, this piece explores the “surreal self” as a constant evolution of identity within the fluid pressure of the subconscious. The grouper, clownfish, and pufferfish transform a private story into a mythical underwater landscape where the artist confronts the wildest, most hidden depths of her own nature.

Dylan Frields
A Face-eating Jocasta and Me
Colored Pencil, Watercolor
William R. Boone High School
Art Teacher: Nicole Moitoza
Grade 12

My main inspiration was Christian art from the 3rd century, with the yellow, grimey look and the full halos. I responded to the theme, symbolically hinting at past relationships I’ve had, people acting pure while hiding their actions. In reference to Dalí’s works, this is considered a self-portrait, with myself as the baby. The cloth wrapped around the body, ideally, comforting and warm but ironically tainted in blood. For techniques I used an array of ideas and mashed them together.

Lacey Calnan
The Observer
Acrylic
Wiregrass Ranch High School
Art Teacher: Paula Roush-Smith
Grade 12

The painting of “the observer” utilizes the emotion of anxiety and fear when you know everyone is doing greater things than you ever could. You feel watched in a negative way as if everyone’s looking down on you. The feeling of never being good enough no matter how hard you try all you get is being watched not seen

Amber Yuan
Lured, Hooked, Faltered
Colored Pencil, Gouache, Marker, Mixed Media
Wiregrass Ranch High School
Art Teacher: Paula Roush-Smith
Grade 12

Inspired by multi-armed Indian deities, this self-portrait explores my evolving identity through scale distortion. Like Dalí, I blend reality with dreamlike symbolism, my hair represents ancestral influence, alongside the telephone that lures me with “false” passions. While I’m hooked, I ultimately falter, questioning whether my aspirations were truly my own. By using realistic colors only for my truest self, I depict a transitional period in which I distinguish my own voice from external noise.

A’Mairah Ellison
The ball is in your court
Mixed Media
Wiregrass Ranch High School
Art Teacher: Treva Alofs
Grade 11

This drawing you see today started as a project called “my surreal self” and ended as a life changing experience. Art has always been important to me so i’m glad I can share my art with the world. This artwork was inspired by something I love just as much as art and that is basketball, which has truly changed me. My artwork represents my true self, what inspires me and what makes me the person I am today.

Jamie Tatsumi
Sensing Symponics
Ink on paper
Arvida Middle School
Art Teacher: Nadia Fernandez-Castillo
Grade 8

Sky Noone
Pressuring
Graphite, Colored Pencil
Audubon Park School
Art Teacher: Laura Markley
Grade 6

My surrealism art project represents the pressure of being an artist, or just being a human in general. They are always watching you.

Elizaveta Dubolazova
Finding yourself is never easy. Shaping yourself is even harder.
Colored Pencil, Marker, Gouache
Audubon Park School K-8
Art Teacher: Laura Markley
Grade 8

Finding yourself is never easy. Shaping yourself is even harder. A person is trying to figure out who they are by trying to create an image of themselves in the mirror, surrounded by failed attempts captured on other mirrors and in shadows they cast – humanoid silhouettes that will forever remain in darkness. My artwork responds to the theme by showing how the surreal self in question tries to present itself in outer self.

Rayleigh Respress
Whole Bunch More
Digital
Avon Park Middle School
Art Teacher: Margaret Pierce
Grade 8

What makes up a person is a whole lot more than a physical body, a face. Their hobbies, interests, favorites, dislikes, and beliefs are what make up the conscience, and the subconscious is where all these things melt together to make an ideal reality, a real self image. I love music, disco balls, chess, and solitude to think, but too much is bad. I believe in the power of art and imagination and its importance in the physical world.

Vada Simpson
Puppeteering of The Stars
Digital, Marker, Acrylic
Beulah Academy of Science
Art Teacher: Elizabeth Edwards
Grade 7

My artwork, ‘Puppeteering of The Stars.’ Consists mostly of digital media, made using Procreate. It also includes some accents with acrylic markers after being printed. One half represents a more lighter, creative side yet it consists of dark spots that match the energy of the portrait on the left. It’s made to represent how a lot of artists can lose the feeling of what art is supposed to be, and how it represents my troubles when people push down the creativity of my work.

Thy Nguyen
Behind the Scenes
Acrylic, Graphite
College Park Middle
Art Teacher: Patricia Noel
Grade 8

My piece here is inspired by the feeling of having to hide one’s emotions. There are two faces molded together, with one expressing happiness, and the other conveying sadness. The surrealism techniques I used are symbolism and double images. I know the feeling of masking your emotions to prevent others from knowing how you really feel, and I wanted to express that in my artwork.

Kayelanie Cortes
Chain of Life
Digital
Davenport School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Brenna Prewitt
Grade 7

Hello my name is Kayelanie Cortes and my project is called Chain of Life. Two things I love about my project is that I drew it myself because I wanted a challenge and I drew it well, and two is my coloring I used lovely colors. One improvement I give myself is to maybe add more things to make it a chain since I only added 3 things to my art. I feel good about this project and I am glad I got the idea of this artwork.

Exael Quinones
Melting Me
Digital
Davenport School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Brenna Prewitt
Grade 7

Melting Me is a self-exploratory digital piece that interprets the concept of melting through the distortion of my identity. In this work, I manipulate my face, ears, and hand to appear as though they are dissolving and dripping, creating a surreal effect that blurs the boundaries between form and fluidity. The melting imagery reflects transformation of the perception. I used digital tools such as the smudge and paintbrush to stretch, blend, and reshape features.

Sabrina Arcila
Breaking
Mixed Media
Florida Virtual School
Art Teacher: Amanda Crossley
Grade 6

Eleanor Thomas
Free Sailing
Acrylic
Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy
Art Teacher: Jennifer Bergendahl
Grade 8

In this artwork, I decided to paint a sailboat sailing through the clouds into the sunset. I have loved sailing for a while and it makes me feel free, as the sailboat is in the clouds. This artwork technique includes displacement and symbolism. The sailboat is displaced by being in the sky, and it symbolizes how I feel when I’m on the water.

Sebrenia-Amor Jackson
Visions of the terrestrial
Colored Pencil, Oil pastel crayons, Marker
Lecanto Middle School
Art Teacher: Yara Santos
Grade 8

Centered on the concept of “”The Two Realms,”” this composition uses a split-double layout to experiment with shape and tone. I utilized oil pastel crayons, color pencils, and markers for rich saturation and sharp outlines. The work contrasts a cool-toned sky of straight clouds and sharp dunes against warm-toned sky of circular clouds and round hills. By integrating an ear, lips, nose, and weeping eye, I explore the sensory connection between humanity and nature.”

Leela Regateiro
Trippy Draws
Mixed Media
Lecanto Middle School
Art Teacher: Yara Santos
Grade 7

This art piece is called Trippy Draws because it is heavily inspired by my favorite online content creator, TrippyDraws. She is an amazing and talented artist who has had a big influence on me. She is one of the main reasons I started creating art. Her work inspires me so much, and she is such a supportive and down-to-earth person, which makes her even more meaningful to me as an artist.

Alphonso Ramirez
The Hundred Steps of Life
Colored Pencil
Okeeheelee Middle School
Art Teacher: Dolores Blanchard
Grade 8

I am a student artist inspired by Salvador Dalí’s Mysterious Mouth. In The Lucky Number of Dalí, rough textures and the number 85 show fading hope. In The Hundred Steps of Life, Kinich Ahau represents renewal. Dalí’s work deepens my understanding of emotion and symbolism

Audrey Graf
Surreal Self
Color Pencil and Ink
Parrish Charter Academy
Art Teacher: Olivia Thornton
Grade 6

Mileena Mathew
Universal Beauty
Graphite
Parrish Charter Academy
Art Teacher: Olivia Thornton
Grade 7

My artwork shows a close-up portrait of a girl with the skin condition, vitiligo. The girl’s patches are shaped like countries from around the world, and her skin represents the oceans. This piece visually explains how beauty is a universal quality, and it extends beyond culture, location and medical condition.

Rehanna Cairo
Colors of Truth
Digital Art
Paul W. Bell Middle School
Art Teacher: Lisa Oberlander
Grade 7

Amayle Rodriguez
Hallways
Colored Pencil, Marker, Graphite
Pine View Middle School
Art Teacher: Carene Madak
Grade 8

This artwork depicts a hospital in Cuba, reflecting the harsh conditions present during a pivotal moment in my life. It draws from my experience undergoing high-risk surgery. The use of light symbolizes divine guidance, representing faith, resilience, and the hope that carried me through uncertainty and recovery. Using simple materials as colored pencils, and markers.

Dakota Zavat
Portal to Lalaland
Watercolor
Ramblewood Middle School
Art Teacher: Ana Rubin Reyes
Grade 7

This art piece is about how I usually tune the world out and go into my own La La Land. Where I only hear what I want to hear, see what I want to see, and think what I want to think using my creativity to make a whole new world and everything is colorful and goes exactly my way.

Naisse Damiani
Curtain Call
Colored Pencils
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Simoni Bonadies
Grade 8

Charlie Parody
Zombie Fright Night
Colored Pencils
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Brandie King
Grade 6

Clara Perez
All Eyes on Me: What Choice will it Be
Colored Pencil
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Brandie King
Grade 7

Anayah Rivera
Between choices and emotions
Colored Pencils
Rochelle School of the Arts
Art Teacher: Simoni Bonadies
Grade 8

Anastasia Procyk
The World of Curiosity in Me
Digital
Rowlett Middle Academy
Art Teacher: Brittany Braniger
Grade 7

I created a digital surrealist piece of art using surreal techniques such as juxtaposing fruits in a galaxy, the scale of different objects, and overlapping other things to make it even more surreal. This piece has no big story, only a dreamlike world, inviting others to form their own story out of it, sparking that bit of curiosity in them. This reflects me through some of my favorite things like animals, watermelon, swimming, and the mysteries of space.

Wendy Castro Bloom
Rainbow Mar
Watercolor, Pencil
Sebastian Middle School
Art Teacher: Kenneth Doenges
Grade 8

Shane Stoddart
Cancer – 1 Annabelle – 0
Acrylic, Watercolor
Sebastian Middle School
Art Teacher: Kenneth Doenges
Grade 7

Cancer – 1 Annabelle – 0 was inspired by how the mind works while fighting cancer.

Vanessa Mazza
Lucid Dreams
Colored Pencil
Imagine School at Town Center
Art Teacher: Holly Browne
Grade 6

My drawings express different parts of me. Two paths inside the mouth represent life’s biggest choices. Melting clocks show how quickly time slips away. Even my bed is melting, I could sleep forever, but one day I must wake up. The tree above shows how smaller paths grow into bigger ones, like choosing the right friends. Eyes watch from unexpected places, like guardians from above. The pencil reminds me where it all began, a dream.

Aria Ferris
Guitars
Colored Pencil
Buddy Taylor Middle School
Art Teacher: Megan Kisner
Grade 8

Music is the window to the soul.

Christy Zhang
Teapot Dynasty
Colored Pencil, Marker, Ink
Edward W. Bok Academy North
Art Teacher: Cole Jaques
Grade 8

My artwork features pieces from both my culture and personal interests. The tea cup has my last name in Chinese on it and coming out from the teacup is jasmine tea. The tea then takes the form of a pond, with lily pads, lotuses, and a duck on the surface. One of the character’s in my Chinese name sounds like the word fish, which explains the fish hovering beneath the pond. Surrounding the pond are heart-shaped trees which originates from this attraction in my hometown, Fuzhou.

Nashly Quintana
Reaching For Your Dreams
Collage, Digital, Watercolor
Hammocks Middle School
Art Teacher: Katherine Martinez
Grade 6

This is about a girl that has a dream of touching the sky. Although she is short, she still feels the possibility of reaching for the sky. She eventually gets tired and gives up, but then she das a bubble. She had a brilliant idea to step on the bubble and eventually was able to reach it. This shows that you shouldn’t give up on reaching for your dreams no matter the possibility.

Zoe Paul
Reminisce
Oil
Academy At The Lakes
Art Teacher: Matthew Paltoo
Grade 10

This work reflects on the passage of time and the power of memories in forming who we are and our perception of ourselves.

Siri Dubé
Khepra
Gouache and Pen
Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts
Art Teacher: Gerald Obregon
Grade 11

“Khepra” explores the subconscious, blending reality and dreams with vibrant colors and symbols of transformation and rebirth, inviting reflection on inner worlds and the surreal beauty of the unconscious. The piece challenges viewers to see beyond the obvious and delve into deeper truths, embracing a dream-like, fluid perception of reality.

Mariusth I Gonzalez
Cats got your tongue
Acrylic, Colored Pencil
Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts
Art Teacher: Gerald Obregon
Grade 11

This drawing is the literal construction of the phrase “cats got your tongue”. It captures the exact moment where anxiety makes it impossible to speak, a representation of the struggles me and others face when put in uncomfortable positions of social anxiety.

Logan Derrington
The red wild
Photography
Bay High
Art Teacher: Amanda Hunt
Grade 10

Being creative is so awesome

Jasper Newberry
Out-Cast
Acrylic
Bay High School
Art Teacher: Amanda Hunt
Grade 12

This work is a reflection of the surreal self by exploring the surreal nature of “fished” out of self isolation. The portrait of myself explores the idea of the struggle of loneliness, isolation, and the lack of desire or interest in putting myself out into the world due to the belief that I am better off alone despite the pain and grief of feeling lonely. A strange beauty between irrational & uncanny in relation to the absurdity of the human experience.

Rebecca Kyaw
Aphantasia
Polymer Clay, Acrylic paint, Wire, and Polyurethane
Bay High School
Art Teacher: Amanda Hunt
Grade 11

This piece is about having aphantasia and what it might be described as to someone who might not know what that is. Aphantasia is the inability to create mental images within the mind, and there are five degrees to it. We use apples as a standardized prompt because it has every aspect for it to be easily created in one’s mind but, it’s hard to visualize it even though we know that we’re thinking of an apple.

Abby Morales
Clockwork Insomnia
Colored Pencil
Cape Coral High School
Art Teacher: Amy Smith
Grade 10

In this piece, I was inspired by the feeling of coming to school or work with little to no sleep. I tried replicating the out of place sentiments and adding the unusual proportions and appearances as a way of translating to the audience how they are feeling on the inside. I incorporated a Salvador Dali themed clock to put an emphasis on how we lose the grasp on time when we are burnt out.

Zoë von Vr
Sound of the Unconscious
Colored Pencil, Watercolor
Cape Coral High School
Art Teacher Amy Smith
Grade 10

My artwork was inspired by surrealism and Salvador Dali’s idea of showing the Unconscious mind. I created a mouth with octopus tentacles to represent hidden thoughts and emotions escaping control. The tentacles symbolize how thoughts can spread freely and unpredictable, like dreams. The birds and floating space add a dreamlike atmosphere. I used surrealist techniques such as combining unrelated objects and exaggeration to express my surreal self and inner imagination.

Mary Rucker
Down the Slide
Oil
Celebration High School
Art Teacher: Judith Maiorana Landin
Grade 11

This piece is to symbolize childhood creativity and how it seemingly flows out of us. It expresses a freedom that comes from imagination and an innocent, artistic perspective. Inspiration for this artwork came from the ideas of “Alice in Wonderland” which emphasize a feeling of whimsy and wonder. Saturated colors and oil pastels were intentionally used to resemble coloring with crayons at a younger age.

Keagen Doescher
Doodle Space
Marker, Graphite, Colored Pencil
Citrus High School
Art Teacher: Kelly Bermudez
Grade 11

This art piece was inspired by artist blocks. I Couldn’t figure out what to draw when I was doing this project so the idea of artist blocks was created from my own artist block. The eye and the pencil through the eye show the stress of an artist block and the space shows the mind and how it’s empty of ideas.

Veronica Schweizer
Blonde
Mixed Media
Cypress Bay High School
Art Teacher: April Beckenhauer Pino
Grade 10

Hayley Maklingham
Wait
Digital
Davenport High School
Teacher: Joshua Steele
Grade 10

For this piece, I wanted to capture the saturation of childlike wonder within a surreal environment. Similar to Salvador Dali’s methods I wanted the world to see through my eyes with a hint of sweetness. When looking at this piece I want my audience to feel as if they were to have a childish dream that they couldn’t quite remember… Working with elements such as color and line really caused this piece to pop and really capture the ambiguity and absurdity within.

Gabriella Leon
Where Elegance Meets Instinct
Mixed Media
Dr. Phillips High School
Art Teacher: Abigail Callaway
Grade: 12

This piece explores the idea of letting yourself go and embracing your inner best self. Life can often be overwhelming, filled with responsibilities, expectations, and pressures that can hold us back. However, by learning to release these burdens, we can tap into our true essence and unlock our full potential.

Layne Hobbie Bubble
Not Yet Burst
Acrylic, Collage, Ink
Jupiter Community High School
Art Teacher: Sarah Knudtson
Grade 12

My piece was inspired overall by my future and how close I am leaving my hometown for a new chapter. I am at an age that I have been looking forward to my whole life, and it feels frightening and new. I portrayed my surreal self by providing a self portrait of myself in a world full of symbols of myself. One example is the airplane, representing a loss of childhood. As a child, an airplane was an amazing thing that I got excited for, but after growing up, going on a plane is like a chore.

Jenna Simpson
Last Minute Split
Collage, Marker, Watercolor
Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation
Art Teacher: Chris Munoz
Grade 9

I’ve always adored artworks that included a collage of newspaper, weather text or pictures, and seeing a Dali section in the pile of newspaper I had inspired me to make this. I used specific parts of the newspaper as well as the splitting person to represent myself and using juxtaposition to make it dreamlike and create a new meaning.

Rhiannon Smith
Imagination
Digital
Lecanto High School
Art Teacher: Erika DiGirolamo
Grade 10

Imagination, an endless stream of ideas, concepts, visions, you name it. That is what I wanted to show in this artwork. All those ideas and such jumbling up together within and that is exactly what is going on with this girl. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but boy do we artists love it all the same.

Christie Humphreys
Omnivident Poppies
Watercolor, Colored Pencil
Manatee School for the Arts
Art Teacher: Melissa Aldan
Grade 10

I love surrealism and I love watercolor. Put them together and it’s even better. I was inspired by “The Puzzling Goldfish” by Bruce Rolff and the dreamcore aesthetic in general. I wanted it to look slightly unnerving and eerie, and even though it ended up not that perturbing at all, I still like it a lot.

Santiago Cisnero
Chasing The Sun
Acrylic
Miami Beach Senior High School
Art Teacher: Osvaldo Samper     
Grade 11

Victoria Gomez
Soft Collapse
Colored Pencil, Oil, Marker, Ink
Miami Beach Senior High School
Grace Cox
Grade 11

This piece started as a self-portrait. I focused on my eye and turned it into a button with yarn coming out, inspired by the idea of being stitched together. I used colored pencils for the main details and oil pastels in the background to make it pop. I made the background shattered so it adds a more broken, layered look.

Isobel Kukoff
Imagine Me
Acrylic
Miami Beach Senior High School
Art Teacher: Osvaldo Samper
Grade: 12

Amber Lopez
Distant Self
Oil pastel
North Marion High School
Art Teacher: Gloria Sed
Grade 11

In my painting I was trying to convey the unattainable wonder that I see in the world and my inability to every truly convey it in my art. I did this by contrasting the vibrant and sporadic background with the monotone coloring of my hand and my faded self-reflection on the orb I’m grasping. I used a mix of oil paint and pastel as my mediums to develop a more textured surface and brighter pigmentation.

Anh Le
Web of Influence
Ink, Pencil
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Chloe DuBois
Grade 11

My artwork explores the different emotions that we as humans can have all at the same time. I want my audience to feel both comfort and confusion at the same time. I have felt both of those while viewing Surrealist art.

Emma French
You Spin Me Right Round
Digital
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Chloe DuBois
Grade 12

I was mindlessly doodling an eye when I got the idea to put in a vinyl record. Classical music was playing the background, so that also influenced me. It shows the influence music is within my life.

Brenna De La Rosa
Music from the Heart
Colored Pencil
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Chloe DuBois
Grade 12

My art piece is inspired by the song “DJ Bachata” by the Dominican singer, Juan Luis Guerra. Through color and movement, I wanted to capture the joyful energy and cultural rhythm of bachata music.

Savannah Wilmer
Fisherman
Colored Pencil
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Chloe DuBois
Grade 11

I was inspired by Rene Magritte’s “The Son of Man”. I explored the idea of something familiar yet faceless. Keeping the familiarity of a well-tailored suit, I chose instead to give a face to the otherwise “faceless”, focusing on a switch in the dynamic of Hunter and Prey.

Marcelino Irigoyen
Surrealism
Colored Pencil, Watercolor
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Marianne Robertson
Grade 10

I tried to go for surrealism and a realistic piece. It was my second attempt using colored pencils. I decided to use the a crab body as arms and a torso. The lower half I used the tail from a rattle snake drawing and used it for inspiration to add. For the head I used a character called “La Catrina” as she symbolizes the day of the dead.

Lola Robinson
King Above the Clouds
Mixed Media
North Port High School
Art Teacher: Marianne Robertson
Grade 12

My piece explores the world of surrealism, mixing a toucan, tiger and king to create a hybrid king above the clouds. The foreground is made from mixed media, while the background is watercolor and watercolor techniques.

Bree Tubre
Tree of Expectations
Watercolor
Ohana Institute
Art Teacher: Beth Roberts
Grade 10

I was inspired by the pressure of expectations in life. School pressure piles up as well as social pressure. The bird is injured in the tree symbolizing an already damaged spirit. The eyes symbolize social pressure and paranoia.

Adriana Campbell
Vivid Imagination 2026
Digital
Parrish Community High School
Art Teacher: Lana Rosamilia
Grade 11

My childhood imagination when my dreams became the future.

Sofia Guerra
The red yarn
Colored Pencil
Riviera Preparatory School
Christine Prieto-Beers
Grade 11

When introduced to the exhibit’s theme I was excited to tap into making up my own idea and stepping out of my comfort zone. An element in my piece that demonstrates my surreal self is the yarn in my back, back in July of 2024 I had spinal fusion. It is a surgery that corrects scoliosis. As time has passed it has turned from something I was ashamed of into something I am proud of.

Moses Perez
Crustacean Decapitation
Colored Pencil, Ink, Mixed Media
Robert Morgan Senior High School
Art Teacher: Milagros Gonzalez
Grade 12

I drew this piece after watching a video on how hermit crabs changed shells and it amazed me how hermit crabs would change shells if they came across a better one on the beach so I wanted to draw them coming across a skull on the beach so I drew myself as the skull they find! Also two of the hermit crabs are based on actual hermit crabs I own so that’s cool too.

Carley Haynes
Empty Hunger
Ceramics
Seabreeze High School
Christine Colby
Grade 11

My artwork is a ripped torso, wounds, & emerging spiders. When it came making the torso, I first made a slab, then I coiled built the front of the torso. Once I finished making the torso and carving out the ribs I made a rip in front of the chest. Spiders can often represent hidden fears or anxieties that need to be confronted. It shows my experience with eating issues, body image, & how alone you feel. Overall, I like how my artwork came out & I like the texture & shape of my piece.

Irie Taylor
The Brighter the Light the Darker the Shadow
Colored Pencil
Seabreeze High School
Art Teacher: Kasondra Williams
Grade 11

Maggie Siver
Rising Through Uncertainty
Acrylic
Sebring High School
Art Teacher: Steve VanDam
Grade 12

This Surrealist piece represents my journey toward learning who I am, a journey with no end, especially growing up without knowing my biological parents. The question marks represent the questions I have about my identity. The birds flying around my head symbolize hope and the possibility of finding some sort of peace. I built an illusion of space using acrylic layers and contrasts to show my feelings of uncertainty, curiosity, and hope.

Sydney Wright
Curled Perception
Graphite
Sebring High School
Art Teacher: Kristy Harris
Grade 11

Jaleel Gibbon
Breakfast with the Angels
Digital
South Walton High School
Art Teacher : Rhonda McEnany
Grade 9

“Breakfast with the Angels “is a digital art piece of me drinking a cup of tea with a few Christian symbols floating in the background. The main symbol is a Biblically correct angel which symbolizes how beautiful and great things can happen around you. Often, we are all so wrapped up with our personal life we don’t notice the good things. I designed my Surrealism digital print using the PicsArt app applying the filter effects: Flora, Geode, and Feast and used the Levitation Surreal Technique.

Isabela Pedrini Chagas
Loss of essence
Acrylic
Spanish River Community High School
Art Teacher: Florencia Soto
Grade 11

“In this piece, I decided to engage in a self-critique of the most difficult period of my life, a time when I became distanced from my art and from nature, contenting myself solely with social media. The rose I drew on my face represents my youth, my very essence being squandered on trivialities, even while I was surrounded by the nature of art. The clouds in the background symbolize the brighter future that lay ahead, as well as the restoration of the connection I once shared with art.

Kimani Ndongo
Starry Daydream
Colored Pencil
Spanish River High School
Art Teacher: Florencia Soto
Grade 9

This is the feeling of drowning in thoughts during a school day imagining how is to be truly relaxed with no worry of surroundings like on earth and instead have it flat around me like a solar system.

Ethan Abenaim
Entrapped by the Screen
Pencil on paper
Spanish River High School
Art Teacher: Anna Saakian
Grade 11

This surreal self-portrait shows me as a worm-like figure emerging from the ground while staring at my phone with my eye forced open. I used this idea to represent how technology can capture my attention and make it hard to look away. The strange body and cracked ground exaggerate this feeling, showing how being connected to screens can make someone feel trapped.

Alissa Trump
watching a sky of broken faces
Watercolor, pen
Sunlake Highschool
Art Teacher: Jill hallauer
Grade 12

Watching the split skys of all she is and the state of her mind, looking for freedom, painiting through herself, a mask she shows and her essence.

Naiah Roman Michelin
Dragoness
Acrylic
Tohopekaliga High School
Art Teacher Jackelyn Adkins
Grade 12

I use the image of a vivid, multicolored dragon enjoying sushi as a symbolic expression of connection to simple joys. The dragon represents the part of me that feels bold, imaginative, and fully alive, with its vibrant colors. The clocks reflect my ongoing awareness of time and the pressure, serving as reminders to take things in.

Naiah Roman
Girl in the mask
Ceramics
Tohopekaliga High School
Art Teacher Amanda Sullivan
Grade 12

Girl in the Mask explores identity, concealment, and quiet growth. The white mask represents the personas we present to the world, while the flowers emerging from half of the girl’s face symbolize vulnerability, healing, and inner beauty. Through ceramic form, the piece reflects the tension between protection and self-expression, suggesting that even behind masks, life and truth continue to bloom.

Kexin Xu
Internal Struggle
Oil
Trinity Preparatory School
Art Teacher: Irina Ashcraft
Grade 10

My painting, “Internal Struggle” demonstrates the ideas of mind and heart through astrology. The scale represents the libra sign over my face. The dark nebula background includes the star symbols in space. The idea came from the balance between intellectual mind vs thoughtful.

Miles Jones
Split
Marker, Ink
Trinity preparatory school
Art Teacher: Irina Ashcraft
Grade 11

When making decisions my mind is always split on making them. Hence, I decided to make this piece to portray exactly what it feels like. All of my ideas holding me together being exposed in the split itself. I hope you enjoy this piece of myself.

Maddie Roemer
Twin
Oil
Trinity Preparatory School of Florida
Art Teacher: Irina Ashcraft
Grade 10

This piece is titled “Twin” because it shows how people aren’t confined to one personality, but many. It demonstrates the complexity of the human mind and the many abilities it possesses.

Te’Mirah Walker
Flesh N’ Bones- My Dark Depictions
Ink, Marker, Watercolor
West Port High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Carter
Grade 12

The main concept of Surrealism are “”back-of-the-mind” deliberations you have when you’re dreaming, they appear when you’re imagining random things. I chose the title ¨Flesh N’Bones- My Dark Depictions¨, because to get surreal thoughts, you have to go through the flesh/skin, the bones, and the skull. To make the illustration look more like a nightmare, I used bold pen cell lines, red and black watercolors, and black, white, and red markers.

Emmanuel Suarez
God’s Gratitude
Ink
Western High School
Art Teacher: Nicole Lombardi
Grade 12

An angel dropping his blessing in a Dantes church where all the saints have disappeared and there is no pope as a sign of God’s gratitude and protection.

Isabella Arango
The orca of hope
Acrylic, Watercolor
Western High School
Art Teacher: Nicole Lombardi
Grade 12

The subject towards my piece is what I view as the pinnacle of liberation. An animal who seen as a caged performer forced out of their habitat contained in a cramped space used for exploitation of profit being able to be in the freest form of life as a tree contradicting the real world with many oppressions were facing the structure gave me a sense of drive and a beacon of hope to break limitations.

Abi Barboza
Fishing for Time
Collage, paint markers
Westminster Christian
April Sharpe-Shirk
Grade 11

“Fishing for Time” is a mixed-media collage created with paint markers, blending surreal imagery with a sense of motion and depth. Sharks glide through the composition while a diver appears enclosed within a watch, symbolizing the fluid and elusive nature of time. The piece explores how moments can feel both vast and fleeting, like drifting through an ocean where time is something we are constantly chasing but can never fully grasp.

Liana Ruiz
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Collage
Westminster Christian School
Art Teacher: April Sharpe-Shirk
Grade 9

In a calm forested sea of blue fish, a maiden lunges toward the octopus’s eye, daring it to truly see her in that suspended moment before the water closes again and she vanishes.

Cristina Saenz
One with the Stars
Acrylic, Collage, Marker, Mixed Media, Photography
Westminster Christian School
Art Teacher: April Sharpe-Shirk
Grade 12

My piece explores the connection between the vastness of the cosmos and human curiosity. I combined images of galaxies and star clusters from the Hubble and Webb Telescopes with a photograph of myself, using acrylic paint to unify the composition. This blend of scientific imagery and personal presence is meant to reflect how we seek meaning in the universe and find wonder both beyond Earth and within ourselves.

Audeliz Burgos
Mirror’s Reflection
Graphite, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Gouache
Westport High School
Art Teacher: Jessica Carter
Grade 12

My art work is a symbolic representation of what looking in the mirror feels like. The flower, A Maga de flor, is the Puerto Rican national flower, and is symbolic of me since my family is from there. I utilized graphite pencil to get a duller look to one side of the mirror, the other side uses gouache and watercolor to get a more dreamy effect. This artwork is meant to represent how we only see our flaws in the mirror, hut these flaws are we see are only part of a more beautiful picture.

Valerie Gomez
Infection
Colored Pencil, Ink
Wiregrass Ranch High school
Art Teacher: Paula Roush
Grade 10

My art piece “infection” is about feeling trapped with no escape or exit. That feeling one has when feeling enclosed in our own world unable to even speak. Getting trapped in hardship but no one is willing to help. In this art piece the girl is trying to scream for help reaching her hand out but cannot hence the mushrooms on her face.

Sydney (Remy) Kim
Break The Shell, Little Moth
Digital
Wiregrass Ranch High School
Art Teacher: Paula Roush-Smith
Grade 11

This self-portrait is a response to both the external, rapid anthropogenic changes and the internal conflict that comes with being a human in this era. A moth protects the face, acting as a symbol of inner delicateness while also highlighting a silent strength. The eggshells act as a double meaning, being the fragile biodiversity loss contrasted by the breaking of boundaries through compassionate advocacy for a brighter future in harmony with nature.

Cosette Varela-Gonzalez
Seadling
Digital
Wiregrass Ranch High School
Art Teacher: Treva Alofs
Grade: 9

This piece represents how we are influenced by the people around us. Sometimes, these influences don’t allow us to form our own opinions, but they will still grow on us whether we want them to or not.

Jaden Goebel
All Eyes on Me
Pen on paper
Wiregrass Ranch High School
Art Teacher: Treva Alofs
Grade: 11