Chartiers Valley graduate Prosek's work on display at Erie Art Museum

A recent graduate of Chartiers Valley High School is embarking on an exciting chapter as a young artist, showing one of her pieces at the Erie Art Museum.

Olivia Prosek, 18, has been passionate about her art for several years. Her work, “Iris,” is showing in the 98th Annual Nicole & Harry Martin Spring Show.

“Iris” was Prosek’s first foray into painted portraiture, which makes the piece’s inclusion in Erie Art Museum’s show even more thrilling for her.

“I’m very excited and proud that she made it into the show, especially since she isn’t necessarily my most developed painting,” Prosek said. “’Iris’ was mainly just a chance to experiment. It was my first time mixing those gory and beautiful themes together, as well as my first time painting a human.”

Prosek plans to spend the next year at Community College of Allegheny County before transferring to Edinboro University to study art.

Visual art has already been a big part of her life for several years, a fact that has held especially true during her senior year of high school, when the pandemic was ensuring a far-from-normal senior year experience.

“My last year of high school was pretty much entirely spent in the art rooms. I did have a couple of academic classes which were made extremely difficult by the pandemic and the introduction of virtual learning,” Prosek said. “My free time is mainly filled up with art, of course, as well as taking care of my rescue dogs, which has been a big part of my life.”

Not only has caring for animals had a big influence on Prosek in her day-to-day, but her curiosity about the natural world has been an inspiration to her, as well.

“I love drawing or painting uncommon animals that are considered ‘pests,’ like rats, moths, or opossums,” she said.

She refers to her favorite artistic subjects as “the unusual beauties of the world.”

“I’ve always loved weird stuff, ever since I was a kid, and I think that now I try to take those interests and put an aesthetic twist on them while creating art,” she said.

Prosek uses a number of different techniques to bring these inspirations to life, from colored pencils to paint to alcohol markers. After making “Iris,” she is now experimenting with adding gold leaf to many of her pieces, as well.

“My art can be described as a little all over the place,” she said.

“Iris” reflects Prosek’s desire to find beauty in disturbing imagery, or in subjects that are not traditionally seen as beautiful. She describes her work as “a bit more on the side of surrealism.”

This surreal style will surely help her meet her goals as a tattoo artist.

“This year I plan on looking for an apprenticeship with a tattoo studio to help guide me into the industry,” she said.

No matter what the future holds, Prosek will meet it with enthusiasm for her growing talent.

“My goal will always be to continue improving as an artist and to maybe inspire those who have a creative side that they haven’t tapped into yet,” she said.

Erie Art Museum’s 98th Annual Nicole & Harry Martin Spring Show runs through June 25, 2021.