Creativity courses through Jess Hellerstein’s veins. Her love of art has been a constant in her life, which has been full of art-themed birthday parties, after-school art projects, and a myriad of classes that allowed her to explore mediums ranging from jewelry-making to ceramics and stained glass to pastels and graphic design.
Although Hellerstein enjoyed expressing herself in a multitude of ways, she found herself particularly drawn to digital art. In 2014, the Chesterfield resident started taking classes at John Tyler Community College. In her classes, Hellerstein explores her “creative self” as she refines her skills and creates new works. One of those pieces, Bike with Yellow Basket, caught the attention of the John Tyler Community College Foundation Board, which selected it as the winner of the 2016 Foundation Art Award.
“I was walking around historic Charleston, taking pictures of the street, and I snapped a photo of a bicycle that just caught my eye,” she says. “The moment caused me to pause. In the midst of our busy lives and amidst all the ‘noise,’ something about the bicycle spoke to me.”
That photograph made an impact on Hellerstein, who decided to use it in a class project.
“Bike with Yellow Basket has over 700 Photoshop layers (or shapes),” she says. “I made a small polygon and filled with a color from the background, reducing a quite busy photograph to basic geometric shapes. I wanted the bike to be the focal point, and I decided to simplify the background to show movement.” Hellerstein’s vision and intricate technique resulted in an image of dynamic simplicity, which will now be featured on the 2016 Foundation Art Award poster.
The John Tyler Community College Foundation Art Award, which originated in 1995, showcases the artistic abilities of John Tyler’s students. Once the winning entry is chosen by members of the Foundation Board, an image of it is converted into a poster and into cards which are used by the Foundation and the College. The award winner receives $250, a framed and matted copy of the poster, and additional posters for her portfolio.
In addition to Hellerstein, the following students were finalists for the 2016 John Tyler Community College Foundation Art Award (zip codes follow each name): Cecile Amos (23947), Shaquan Herring (23225), Deanna Mutz (23112), Kiersten Russo (23231), Terry Lynn Smith (23224), Katrina Tilbury (23831), D’andre Washington (23114), and Robert Wynne (23236),
