A picture says a thousand words. Sometimes, it just takes a while for an artist to give herself permission to say the words.
That’s what Paige Hall, 22, of Connellsville discovered during her time at the Columbus, Ohio, College of Art and Design.
For as long as Hall can remember, she has always had a passion for art. She followed that passion by taking art classes at Connellsville Area High School and by drawing in her free time. Outside of art, Hall also was passionate about social equality issues, such as gay marriage and the feminist movement.
When it came time to decide on what to do after graduating from high school, Hall knew she wanted to do something that would allow her to use her creativity.
"I realized that there was no way I could do something that wasn’t creative and be happy,” Hall said.
However, because of the uncertainty of finding consistent work in the art industry, Hall decided it would be best to “mull over a lot of options” before choosing a college and a major.
When deliberations were complete, Hall knew she had to take the risk and follow her heart.
“I ended up deciding that I’d rather do something I love that possibly had a little instability, rather than something I hate for the sake of consistency,” she said.
That decision to buck society’s standards led Hall to enroll in art school in the fall of 2011.
After making the adjustment to college life, Hall started to make adjustments to her drawing techniques. It wasn’t long before Hall started seeing positive results.
“It’s amazing how much I’ve grown as an artist with the help of my colleagues and instructors in Columbus,” Hall said.
However, it was another sort of growth that set her art school experience apart.
“That growth [in skill] is to be expected,” Hall said.
She said that art isn’t really different from other fields in that the more one works on it, the more refined it becomes. What is surprising, she said, is how much living in a bigger city like Columbus has helped her grow.
According to Hall, the move from a conservative area like Connellsville to a bigger city like Columbus allowed her to become more enlightened about a myriad of topics. Of these topics, an old passion stands out.
“Going from a small town to a big city has opened my eyes way farther than I thought they could go,” Hall said. “I’ve been educated about a ton of things, with one example close to me being the intricacies of feminism. Now, instead of just looking at how feminism benefits me, I’ve become interested in inclusionary feminism that reaches to women of color and trans- women.”
But not all enlightenment is positive in nature. Hall said learning more about feminism and equality created a paradox. Whereas Hall held these ideals in high regard, the industry she planned to work in by-and-large did not.
“The [art] industry suffers tremendously due to its lack of inclusion,” she said. “I think it’s easy to assume that the artistic community is softer and more progressive, but unfortunately, that is not the case in a lot of instances. Even though recently there have been great strides toward legitimate equality, the industry I work in surprisingly lags behind.”
That’s why when it came time for Hall to pitch her senior project idea earlier this year, she decided to try and buck another trend.
“I decided my desires to facilitate equality and see every woman embraced by the [feminist] movement could be communicated to the world through my art,” Hall said.
This led to the development of what Hall calls the “Pretty Project.” According to Hall, the project is meant to extol the ideal that “all types of women are beautiful.” This is illustrated through the drawing of female characters who don’t have the characteristics society would consider “beautiful.”
In total, the project will be a 32-page piece that has 12 women accompanied by 12 phrases of positivity and encouragement, as well as a few full-page spread illustrations.
Some examples of these layouts include pictures with the caption, “Fat is not a bad word” or “Your body is no one’s business but your own.”
If the project is well-received, Hall said she would like to make a second volume.
Aside from attending school, Hall also travels to conventions around the East Coast to showcase and sell her art. After she graduates this spring, she plans to enter the art industry in a freelance capacity.
As a professional, Hall said her goal will continue to be fighting against the status quo.
“The media and art industries are actively suppressing change, and I really hope that I can at least make some sort of move against that,” Hall said. “To [be able to] build myself up that way and make a living loving what I do is my dream job.”