Images ranging from wildlife to local protests will be showcased in Gallery 201 on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. The FUHS visual arts department has gathered art and photo pieces from 13 alumni and from about 120 current students who are enrolled either in Advanced/AP Photo, Drawing & Painting, AP Art or Photo Foundations. Students and teachers who cannot attend the show will have a chance to walk through the gallery on Monday, Oct. 6 during school hours. The Tribe Tribune reached out to three alumni who have entries in tonight’s show.
Sam Cafferty, Class of 2018
Sam Cafferty, Class of 2018, enjoys hiking and camping which gives him an opportunity to take photos of birds and other wildlife. “I think when I first started with wildlife photography my goal was to capture a solid image of whatever I saw; however, these days I try to take pictures where the bird or animal seems like it is trying to say or feel something.”
Cafferty says lighting and timing are the biggest challenges when capturing a wildlife photo. “It’s important to shoot in the early morning or at sunset when the light is softer and directional, rather than overhead where it can wash out a lot of the photos,” he said. “My overall philosophy for my photography is that there’s so much beauty around us in the natural world that is hard to see unless you take the time to stop and look for it.”
Ava Carlson, Class of 2023
Since graduating in 2023, Ava Carlson has been majoring in Technical Theater at Fullerton College where they are currently designing props for the Oct. 16-18 production of Kate Hamill’s Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really. They also are an assistant director for Center Stage Theater in Yorba Linda and says their passion for playing Dungeons & Dragons has influenced their drawing and painting.
Ava’s acrylic piece features characters from Dimension 20: Neverafter, a D&D storytelling series set in a twisted fairy tale world. “The series means a lot to me because beyond just enjoying the show, it’s something I get to share with my mom,” Carlson said. “I introduced her to Dimension 20 as a way to introduce her to my love of D&D, and she fell in love with it as much as I did. Now, we watch the seasons together and get to share our love for the series.”
Carlson said their piece called “Eva + Lola” is a really sweet show of their growth as a person and an artist. “The characters represented in the piece are based on real people in my life. It’s been very sweet to hold onto that younger self while seeing my current self grow up and change into a totally different version of me. The piece itself is also a revisitation of a series I made back in 2021 in which I drew a bunch of my characters in various spaces as a practice in backgrounds and character design. I revisited the series in January of this year and have been redrawing the pieces with my current style and skills, so it’s been really cool to see my growth as an artist through those redraws.”
Ainsley Kudron, Class of 2023
Since graduation in 2023, Ainsley Kudron has been attending Vanguard University in Costa Mesa and traveling the world, including Uganda and Armenia. “Getting to photograph different parts of the world and other ways of life is one of the best feelings,” she said.
Kudron attended the “No Kings Day” protest on June 14 when thousands gathered at La Palma Park in Anaheim to protest authoritarian behavior by government officials. The nationwide protests served as counter-programming to the U.S. military parade hosted in Washington, D.C. on the same day. Kudron had several friends and family attend the event.
“I watched them all bring or make something to bring that they were passionate about,” she said. “When I thought about what I could bring to the event, I realized it was photography. It was such a privilege to capture not only history but every individual voice and passion. I love looking back on these photos and reflecting on the many different reasons everyone came together that day.”
Ainsley explained how she captured this photo of an elderly couple at the June 14 protest: “I was running around, dodging cars, and trying not to run into people. I left the street for a bit to catch my breath.”
“During my break, this couple walked up to the protest. They stopped and just stood still. They didn’t say anything to one another; they didn’t even look at each other. It was as if they knew they needed to stop for a minute. As they stood still watching the crowd, they linked hands and the woman took a deep breath. I snapped the picture and walked away to give them some space. Hearing her breath and watching their quiet movements, I felt a sense of defeat, and maybe that wasn’t the case, but regardless I’m glad they were there. Later in the day I saw them again in the middle of all the chaos just sitting on the street and holding hands.”
