Irie O’Dea’s exceptional artistic talents, along with the many art classes she has taken at Park High School, have earned her the position of the senior class art exemplar. During her time at Park High, O’Dea has taken Visual Arts, Pottery 1-2, Painting 1, Advanced Painting 2-4, Drawing 1, and Advanced Drawing 2-4. That works out to being at least one art class every semester. Out of all those classes, O’Dea’s favorite was Advanced Painting because she liked the freedom it presented.
Sarah Mussetter, Park High Art Teacher, explained how O’Dea entered high school already with some practice and natural talent. The thing that sets her apart from other students is her perseverance through the struggles that come with art. “Irie is not afraid to fail. She will try new things with the knowledge that everything might fall apart,” said Mussetter. O’Dea’s resilience has led her to show a lot of growth in art over the last four years.
Outside of school, O’Dea pursues her love for art by selling it. Most of what she has done so far has been commissioned, but she plans to continue to sell more of her artwork in the future. “I believe that selling my work pushes me to become a better artist,” commented O’Dea.
O’Dea plans to use her artistic abilities beyond high school. She will be attending Davidson’s Honors College at University of Montana in the fall. She plans to get a degree in Art Therapy, which combines art with psychology.
Mussetter would like to leave Irie with one final thought: “Never stop creating, buy nice paint brushes, and sell your paintings for what they are worth. We will miss you a lot.”