Hawks Nest art gallery and reception May 18 celebrates MTHS student artists

Mountlake Terrace High School is hosting its second annual Hawks Nest art gallery and reception for artists Saturday, May 18, showcasing about 30 artworks created by MTHS students. The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the school’s Hub and is open to the public, will include murals at the hallways, paintings, sculptures and abstract art.

Innovations Club President Mudabrah Amber, a MTHS senior who runs the gallery and community outreach, said that this year’s event is bigger and more organized than last year.

“I want to create a space for students to show their art and have a community of artists that could be reached out to,” Amber said. “The space is also for students who are still curious but aren’t entirely sure if they want to go into the [arts] career path. If there’s some opportunity for them, I can provide that kind of lead. I’d be more than happy to do it.”

Amber will be displaying her own work, including Hero’s Happy Ending, which won the Gold Key in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Competition. The acrylic/digital painting is an “over-exaggerated version of people pleasers, people who give [and] give but always end up empty in the end,” Amber said.”

“The story itself is placed in a fantasy medieval times, and the main character is supposed to represent a warrior or soldier who saved people but is traumatized from war, similar to modern day war yet fantasized,” Amber said. “It really has two different meanings; it depends on how you see it and relate to it.”

She used various techniques like overlay, underpainting and washing. “I already drew a rough draft of the entire piece with placement, coloring and everything on Procreate [an app for digital painting], and then did a more detailed and precise version of it on the canvas,” Amber said.

Since Amber will be graduating in June, she hopes that someone will take the leadership role in running the Hawks Nest gallery next year.

After she graduates, Amber plans to go to Edmonds College to study business and retail management or visual communications and transfer to a four-year university.

Mountlake Terrace High School is located at 21801 44th Ave. W. in Mountlake Terrace.

— By Nick Ng