In the painting, two women lie nestled in an embrace. Eyes closed, they are so vividly rendered and so immersed in each other, the viewer feels as if they’ve walked in on an intimate moment. Below their bodies, in a corner of the painting, a hand holds an apple with a heart carved out of it; in the other corner are the words “God blessed me by making me transgender so that humanity shares in the act of creation”.
With expertly blended caramel skin tones and a captivating fairytale-esque quality, the work is a testament to artist Harper Bolick’s knowledge of color, composition, and technique. It is also a “coming out” as the non-binary artist claims their own voice and identity.
Bolick, who is graduating this May with an associate’s degree in art and was nominated for an academic achievement award, took some time to share her story with us. Their fascination with fantasy and Biblical themes, they said, began at a young age. As a child, their family regularly went to church and they would doodle during the service to entertain themself, creating fantasy creatures in the margins of church pamphlets.
“I was always really interested in the stories [at church]. I had a lot of questions about things that didn’t make sense.”
In their painting, Bolick decided to explore one of her more complex questions. Eve, they point out, is given a supporting role in the act of creation. She is described in the Bible as being formed from Adam’s rib and later blamed for bringing sin to the world.
Bolick, in her painting, aims to give Eve a more honorable and human role. “She brought beauty and diversity and creation to the world,” They said. “Women give birth to children. There’s immense power and beauty in that.”
Bolick's own creative journey has been a rich one. As a child who loved to read, their imagination was especially sparked by books like “The Cats of Tanglewood Forest”, about a girl who lives near a forest inhabited by mystical talking cats. In high school, Bolick realized she was happiest when drawing and making art. Her mother, a former chair at A-B Tech, encouraged her to consider coming to A-B Tech for art classes, and Bolick is grateful they did. The nineteen-year-old has thrived in the college’s close-knit arts community.
“It’s been amazing,” They said. “I like the small scale. Teachers develop one-on-one connections. I thrived with that camaraderie.”
An art classroom, Bolick believes, should be a safe place to explore and make mistakes. “A-B Tech fosters an environment where it’s not terrifying to fail at something,” they said. In the two years Bolick’s been on campus, they’ve been able to develop self-confidence in their own artistic abilities.
One stand-out moment came when Bolick learned to loosen up her hand and draw on a larger scale in Ani Volkan’s drawing class. With Volkan's lead, they were able to create a detailed collage self-portrait that they are proud of.
“I didn’t know I could do that,” they said. “Making [the portrait] challenged the way I could make art. I used found objects like bottle caps and earrings.”
Another surprise moment came in Molly Morningglory’s ceramics class, which Bolick admits she saved for last this year because she never liked ceramics in middle school. “I was blown away by how much I loved it,” she said. “I thought ceramics would be cups and bowls and throwing on a wheel. But you can personalize it and make a sculpture.”
Perhaps, the best surprise of all was the fact that Bolick’s above-mentioned painting “The Divine Love of Eve” was chosen out of many student submissions for a juried student art show that is now on exhibit in the A-B Tech Conference Center through May 2.
Now, Bolick is awaiting what is perhaps the most exciting phase of their creative life so far. This fall, they’ll be moving out of state to study at the Art Institute of Chicago. They are excited at the prospect of living in such a rich cultural hub, though making the choice to attend art school, they admit, came with its own challenges. “People discourage you from doing an art degree,” they said. “There’s been a needle of doubt in the back of my head, but I think that art is what I really excel in.”
More than just a way to develop their talents, Bolick said, creating art allows time to explore life’s unending questions and express emerging thoughts and emotions. In this way, it is perhaps not just an act of creation, but a necessary tool for survival.
“A crucial component of art is the way it connects the people and the stories that it tells,” Bolick said. “It can be a story of community and love. I want to channel that [in my own art] in dark times.”