The gallery’s dedicated Young Artist Wall will turn over to Redwood Valley native Hannah Kitchen for the months of February and March. A high school senior in Rose Easterbrook’s Advanced Drawing class, Hannah reflects that she has loved the arts since she was very young. In her words, “I loved having the ability to create something and be so passionate about it. Around eight years old I got into drawing anime characters. I was always so curious about the human face and the way it was structured. I always had my sketchbooks with me and they would just be filled with different portraits of these characters. I wasn't so entranced with the idea of visual references, so whatever went on paper that day was basically my mind speaking to me.“

Hannah continues, “I have always been into graphite as a medium. I always liked the feel of it and really hadn't bothered to try something else until I got into Ms Easterbrook's class. Then I started to really like watercolor, ink, pastels, colored pencils, tempra… just anything that we did I loved… and I never protested against trying new mediums.”

Hannah is justifiably excited and nervous about her first art show. “I never had my work out there,” she admits, “and now that I suddenly got the opportunity it is kind of scary. But I know it will be so rewarding. I have always been reserved with my art, and finally getting some of it out there is a big step for me.” Another aspect of her case of jitters is that Hannah will exhibit an experimental piece that is quite emotional for her. “I wanted to try something new,” she explains. “It is part of a series of monochromatic skulls, where I tried to use what I was experiencing that day and depict my emotions through my use of color.