“Are we ready to start? Thanks for choosing me, by the way.”
Senior Tori Rassa, one of the most successful artists attending Susquehannock, is at her computer focusing on finishing a design. She works fast, usually completing her projects in a matter of days. Her work is hectic, turning out dozens of thumbnails for the final project of the marking period: a logo for the Pennsylvania High School Computer Fair.
“With my work, I like to challenge what is considered normal,” said Rassa. “In my drawings I try to step away from what other people are doing and mix it up.”
Most people in the building know Rassa by her paintings covering the hallways of the school. She painted a woman in the tower and hung a painting of a warrior in another staircase.
Soon Rassa will be leaving for the Art Institute of York to study art science.
“I hope to learn all of the different techniques and the styles they teach us,” said Rassa. “I want to work with different professors and people in my field, so they can broaden what I learn.”
However, she’s feeling some anxiety over the switch from high school to college.
“My main concern at this point is financing,” Rassa said. “At this point, I’m hoping someone will come and say ‘I like you. I want you to go to college for free.’”
Caitlyn, Rassa’s younger sister, is feeling a different kind of worry over the move.
“I’ll miss her jokes and playing video games with her, and her comments on how horrible my games are,” said Caitlyn. “She’s also helped me with my art, so I’ll miss that, too.”
“After finishing college I’m really excited to see where it’ll take me,” said Rassa. “I don’t know if I’ll be working in a small shop or if I’ll end up working for McDonald’s.”
Rassa has no shortage of experience selling art, including her paintings: traditional landscapes and surreal portraits. At last year’s art fair, she set up a booth of her work, aimed at selling new paintings and prints. She says of her style, “I get a lot of inspiration from historical works, old art, religious iconography, things like that.”
Soon, Rassa will be a featured artist in the Arthur Hufnagel Library of Glen Rock with two other high schoolers. She says she’s been submitting work to many more contests and competitions, many where she has a chance of winning. “Check with me in a month,” she says.
“I’ll definitely miss high school. I’m leaving a lot of younger friends, and, obviously, teachers. It’ll be hard to leave them behind,” Rassa said.
Her teachers will miss her, too. “Tori is a very creative and motivated person,” said Wade Bowers, an art teacher at Susquehannock. “I see her finishing college and going into a career in graphic arts, if that’s what she decides to do.”
Rassa shared some tips for anyone hoping to reach her level of success. She said, “Always try to improve. There’s always something you can do more to. Always practice, too. If you stop drawing, you’ll lose your talent.”
Despite all of the change coming soon, Rassa is relentlessly hopeful for the future. She doesn’t know exactly where she’ll end up, but she’s very happy with the path she’s on.
“I think since I was a kid, just drawing with crayons, I’ve always been interested in art. I just recently realized that that dream could be a reality. I grew up and people said ‘Do this, do that.’ I had it in my head that I couldn’t make money, that I couldn’t work as an artist. I’ve just started to see what kind of jobs I can get with all of my skills. I really want to pursue it because if that was my job, I’d never work a day in my life.”
With that, Rassa goes back to work, hoping to finish her last project of the year.
