A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Multiple shrimp. A pigeon. Although these might seem like random subjects, for senior Sophia Roufas, they are essential to her art. Through her artistic process, Sophia strives to depict simple objects and turn them into captivating pieces. After hours of hard work and carefully planned details, her work stands completed. 

Sophia started drawing at a young age, which inspired her to take multiple art classes in high school. She especially enjoys painting, drawn to the versatility of different mediums that can express unique messages.

I always try to make my art look as realistic as possible even though I know sometimes it’s not going to look very real,” Sophia said. “It’s really cool to see how close you can get it to what it actually is hosting, out of all the mediums of art.”

Sophia also developed an interest in jewelry making in sophomore year, influenced by her elementary school experiences with the craft. Through stringing beads and creating designs, she finds joy in expressing her creativity through making animal-themed jewelry. 

“I thought that the beads were so cute,” Sophia said. “I made them into earrings. I had the pliers lying around and I bought the hook part for dangle earrings and I put it together. For Christmas, my grandmother gave me these glass bee earrings. I continued, going on to buy gold metal. Now I have a collection of animal earrings, including frogs, octopi, bees and ladybugs.”

Through her years of practicing art techniques, Sophia found her artistic style. She utilizes contrast to highlight the subject, allowing it to stand out from the rest of the work.

“I like a lot of blues and greens in the actual subject against a really dark background,” Sophia said. “The bright object is popping out of the page and the light hits it, but then it also fades into the background with its shadows.”

Close friend senior Sofie Marino attests to Sophia’s art skills and thoughtfulness. She appreciates Sophia’s warm-hearted nature and willingness to support her peers in their endeavors. 

“She’s a compassionate and caring friend,” Sofie said. “She lets me talk and she’ll listen. She also puts in a lot of effort in what she does. She’s very artistically talented. She’ll be randomly doodling something and it’ll be amazing. She’s pretty organized so she can get everything done.”

Psychology teacher Julie Turchin, who taught Sophia for three years, emphasizes her growth throughout high school. She values Sophia’s outgoing personality in class and dedication to her work. 

“She’s soft spoken, but I’ve definitely gotten to understand her sense of humor and social side as she’s matured,” Dr. Turchin said. “One quality is that she’s incredibly thoughtful.  She’s super supportive of her classmates, steadily does her work and supports others along the way. She cares not just about the grade, but understanding the work and doing it well.”

Close friend senior Chayce Milheim also notices Sophia’s dedication to psychology and her true interests in the field. After getting to know each other through chemistry in their sophomore year, they bonded together.

“I admire her perseverance and ambition the most,” Chayce said. “She has such big ambitions and she’s not afraid to reach for them. She wants to become a psychiatrist. It came out of left field when she told me that. But then it made so much sense because she’s been into psychology for so long and brain science, and she loves how people work and think.”

In her experiences with art, Sophia learned to value the deeper significance of every piece that she creates. For Sophia, art gave her an opportunity to view the world in a different light and perspective.

“Art, specifically painting, has really taught me how to observe other people more clearly,” Sophia said. “Instead of going straight at it, you’re trying to watch it first and ask, ‘How can I approach this?’ to make it easier for myself instead of going straight in. So, observation and patience are very important in the process.”