Talawanda’s got Talent: Ricki Snyder

In the calm atmosphere of a high school art class sits one of Talawanda’s many students. 18-year-old Ricki Snyder is considered by many people to be overly talented in her different types of artwork. These range from drawing and painting, all the way to clothing design, hair, make-up and jewelry.

Snyder’s love of art began when she was in elementary school. “My friend, Taylor, would start drawing in 5th grade, and I would copy everything she did, and I started getting into it,” Snyder said.  “Ever since then I brought in drawing, painting and fabric. Everything kind of came to me.”

 Inspired by anime and drawing characters with her friend, Snyder said she has created her own style and has expanded her skills, going from pencil and paint to ink, making 2D art her specialty. “I’m really bad at 3D stuff. Throwing clay on the wheel is really bad, but if someone makes me something, I can build off of that,” she said..

When working on projects, she enjoys including her own form of art. Her style includes cool colors, such as blues and purples, saying that they simply look better. Examples of the artwork she’s done include a melting puppy (a blue and purple puppy that seems to be melting off the page), multiple portraits of herself painted in various different styles, a landscape portrait, and a clay tile rose that looks like it is coming to life from the tile.

Art teachers have complemented Snyder’s work ethic and the skills and talent she shows in her work. One example is art teacher Elise McWilliams, who had Snyder in her classes this school year, “She is a wonderful artist and is self motivated. She does the work independently and is excited about her work. She always comes up with great ideas,” said McWilliams.

McWilliams said that she hopes for her students incorporate art into their adult lives. “Talent in general will only get you so far in art, but you have to have an excellent work ethic in order to keep going,” she said.  “Ricki has both, which means that art will be a part of her life over the long haul, which is what I’m looking for as a teacher.  I’m looking to help students incorporate art into their adult lives in some form, and for Ricki, it is more of a calling,”

 During her three years in middle school, Snyder said she participated in all available art classes, including the advanced class her 8th grade year. When entering high school she joined the drama team and began to sketch out clothes and costume designs. It all began when Snyder started taking fabric scraps and sewing them together to make her drawings of clothes a reality. “I make a lot of my clothes sometimes, and that’s always fun,” she said.

Snyder’s reasoning for working on clothes was for her own personal enjoyment at first. This developed into the desire to continue and make more styles. Costumes in the drama productions Wizard of Oz and Alice, as in Wonderland, such as the cast outfits of the munchkins and the cards, were designed by Snyder.

Recently, Snyder won a prize for entering artwork in the AAA traffic safety poster contest. Her art in the contest was of the interior of the car and around certain parts of the car had some rules and tips of driving. It was also entered in the 2014 people’s choice awards, where it can be voted on and potentially win another $250.

Snyder’s love of art has led her to multiple artistic subjects in hopes that she can take something out of it. Her biggest goal is to work with clothes along with hair and plans to take these skills with her all the way into her career and future life.