She is an artistic maniac, so to speak. She works hard to take the breath away from those who view her pieces. Her hard work was recognized on Thur., Dec. 8 at the winter art show when she was awarded with Best in Show.
Katharine Bartosz, junior, is an artist in the making. She is an AP art student with a pronounced passion for drawing and painting.

“I’ve always loved art,” said Bartosz. “I have been drawing basically since I left the womb.”

Bartosz grew up with interests gravitated towards the arts, experimenting with her creativity as she grew.

“As a small child Katharine was always singing and drawing. In recent years her creativity expanded,” said Bridgette Bartosz, Katharine’s mother. “She was introduced to oil painting her freshman year and that is her favorite medium.”

She expanded her horizons and techniques in high school when she started adding art classes to her school schedule. Her first class was Drawing One where she learned about colored pencils and how to use them properly. After Drawing One, she moved on to Oil Painting where she was introduced to her favorite medium, oil paint.

“York has a really great arts program,” said Bartosz. “While art has always been a part of my life, the classes at York made art an even bigger part of my life and made me fall in love with painting, one of my favorite things to do in my life.”

Sophomore year she took Drawing Two, where she was offered to apply for AP Art as a junior and she took up the opportunity. Upon entering AP Art, her workload greatly increased, with a piece due every eight days.

The type of work Katharine does is varied. For AP Studio Art she is working on building a portfolio that showcases a variety of artwork and different mediums to showcase her range of skills as an artist.

“Katharine is unique from other students because of how fast she works and her overall ability to work in almost any medium she chooses,” said Kelsey Thompson, Katharine’s AP Art teacher. “A lot of the work Katharine is currently doing for me has a variety of subject matter, she is very talented and able to master a lot of different styles.”

Among her current work is a concentration, which is a theme of her choosing. For this she is focusing mainly in oil paint, showcasing original endings to fairy tales. She chooses stories used to teach children lessons though fear, the happily ever after incentive or tragedy. Each painting depicts the most dramatic moment of each story.

“These all have a darkness to them,” said Thompson. “It has been interesting to see Katharine take and spin off the dark side of the stories.”
Bartosz’s most recent works were featured in the Winter Art Show. Her display consisted of eight pieces, including of a mix of her work from the summer and the preview of two of her fairy tale pieces. Her display was awarded Best In Show, which is voted by student viewers.

Bartosz balances the workload among her other activities like choir and theater. She manages these activities by working hard in and out of the classroom, sometimes spending hours at a time on one piece. She will be continuing on with the class and her creations through the rest of her junior and senior year, so keep an eye out for what work she’ll display next.

“She really has an amazing talent,” said Thompson. “I hope she continues with art for the rest of her life!”