Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) is a hot spot for art. With several art classes, including ceramics, commercial art, AP Art, photography, and more, HBHS works to uplift its art students. The art teachers give students the opportunity to sell their pieces at the HBHS Art Fest, started by art teacher Mathew Harward. The event started with one student motivated to sell their art and a teacher who believed in them. This has grown to be open to any student regardless of enrollment in art classes. The fest will be set up in the HBHS quad during lunch on December 5 & 6th with around 40 students selling their handmade art pieces, most of which sell more than one kind of work. So with all of this time to prep and around many creative minds at work, what can we expect to be sold?

“People’s perception of what the art fair is is so much different from what it actually is now. Because it used to be just paintings and ceramics and stuff, baseline corner cut art stuff that you would expect. And then I feel like I started doing jewelry one of the first years [Harward] did it, and now people are way more open to branching out,” said Ashley Pendergast, an HBHS senior.

Art prints are a great way to sell art; they allow someone to sell a copy of a piece more than once. Many of our student artists use them to sell their digital art at fairs. Two students, both selling digital art portraits, are inspired by very different styles. Inspiration can come from anything, and much comes from seeing the art in the media one already consumes.

“I read a lot of manga, and I eventually looked into a lot of the art, especially with my friends being artists,” said Sang-woo Benedict, a junior at HBHS.

This is the first year Benedict has sold anything at an art fair. Though manga inspired his art style, the people around him inspired his love for art to begin with. In many ways, a person can inspire art in the form of stylized portraits.

“[I draw] mostly my friends, people on the internet, and I also take commissions from people who want their own portrait of them,” said Hao Le, a junior at HBHS.

In addition to multiple inspirations, some have multiple hobbies. Students are able to sell any kind of art, most of them selling more than one. And though many students sell prints of their digital art, they also display their art in different ways.

“[My favorite] is definitely my acrylic keychains because they’re small and compact, and they come out really cute when I make them. And I like selling them,” said Annika Wang, an HBHS senior.

Wang isn’t alone in loving to sell their art in the form of keychains. Keychains and stickers are a common way for artists at HBHS to sell their art as they are more universally used and publicized by students looking for ways to decorate their backpacks and electronics. In fact, many enjoy making different pieces with the same style on different mediums.

“I’m selling keychains, stickers, prints, and also clothes I put prints on,” said Finn Falcon, an HBHS junior.

Screen printing clothes is a part of HBHS’s Commercial Art class and digital sketching is a base skill for many art classes on campus. Although keychains and stickers typically aren’t made on campus, plenty of them are sold at the fair. Similar to the plenty of other painting and drawing-centered art classes, HBHS offers multiple levels of ceramic classes, with students in higher-level classes that have opportunities to participate in ceramic competitions and exhibitions. A handful of those students making ceramics on campus also sell that art at Art Fest.

“I’m always thinking and stuff… so art calms me down and it’s really cool to be able to [do art] instead of just being in the classroom mentally. I use emotion to craft,” said Angel Valenzuela, a senior in HBHS Ceramics.

Valenzuela is making miniature Christmas trees that started out as a small project for himself that led itself to being sold. Art isn’t confined to campus; these people’s art is seeped into everyday life. Even around a busy high school schedule, young artists are taking pieces home and making them on their own time. Art is more than just a class or a paycheck, it’s a community. 

“A lot of the artists in it, we basically like to trade… we trade art for art,” said Falcone.

The trades are what artists refer to as ‘art trades’ where instead of buying pieces, they trade something they made, for something someone else made. This lets artists enjoy others’ art without the burden of the cost, bringing students together with their art.

“[I liked] meeting new people because I get to see a lot of different people who I’ve never seen before at school that I didn’t realize would go to our school. I’ve made a lot of good friends this way,” said Wang.

This community uplifts and inspires each other. Art, if nothing else, is a way of expressing oneself, and this group of artists builds each other up.

“If you ever feel trapped or whatever, I would definitely recommend expressing that through any type of art form, and there is so much amazing stuff, like writing poetry, singing, dancing, and I think it’s cool sometimes to just have something personal that could change whatever you’ve been through and sometimes make it beautiful and find a new way to express yourself,” said Valenzuela.

To most of these students, art is more than just something they sell for profit. Art fairs are more about spreading their art, getting inspiration, and giving them a place for their art to be seen. Art is more than just profit; it’s a means of expression and a safety net.