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Mason Chambers

Hayden Nguyen shows off one of his pieces of art.

More than just a hobby

Rider teachers, students discuss passion for art

February 2, 2022

Art can have many different effects on a person’s life.

Some people can find art very fun and dependent on a work style, while certain students can find art to be a boring hobby and not that interesting.

For Vickie Harding and Jeremy Boren, art is also a job they teach at Rider. While Boren worked for Nickelodeon, he was excited to work with friends that shared the same passion as him. 

“Working for a big company was much more a personal thing than I thought coming from a huge brand, and there’s a lot of money behind the brand,” Boren said. “It feels the same as working with a bunch of like-minded people that have the same heart in what you do.”

Art can change people in the way they see life, and for Boren he can connect to people and make a job out of something he likes.

“I’ve made a career out of it, and it’s strange because it was a hobby and in life you just want to paint or draw and then you consider making a career out of it,” he said. “Then wondering if this question will be interesting or will it be useful, but for me it’s been a way to connect with people in a lot of different ways in my life.”

Paintings can have meaning behind the art, and Boren has gifted people his projects before. 

“Painting can be used for all kinds of different things,” Boren said. “I can paint you a picture and put more meaning into it, such as painting a picture of your dog. I like to make stuff and give it to people, and I’d rather make 20 gifts than go buy stuff just because it means something.”

Harding is the head of Rider’s art department and has high hopes to win some competitions this year.

“I hope to get more students and have them do more fun things while at the same time teach them about art and open creativity and how to do things and make art enjoyable,” Harding said. 

Just like athletics and other UIL events, artists are able to win their own competitions. 

“We have two big ones coming up, the first one is VASE (Visual Art Scholastic Event) and it’s for the entire school district,” she said. “The regional is here at Region 9 and we pretty much have been in the top category and had almost all the ones that went to state. There is also an art show at MSU and the good thing is they get money and offer scholarships. Those are our two big art projects.”

Doing something you love and want to make a hobby takes time for art students. Some can take months, while others take days. Junior Hayden Nguyen said he takes his time depending on the size and art project.

“The projects I’m doing right now are much bigger-scale projects and I don’t really know when I’ll be done,” Nguyen said. 

Some young artists have inspiration, whether it is to become famous or make a living. Nguyen is inspired by his family. 

“My family and cousin, my mom is a nail stylist and makes designs on nails,” he said. “My dad fixes machines, that’s his art.

“I want to make a career out of it but not right now, I do plan to establish a plan for myself later on.”

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Mason Chambers, Staff Writer

Of course, being me, I know myself the best. I honestly don’t think I’m a very interesting person. I like to go out with family and friends, spending...

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