St Johns College students picked for 2023 HSC Showcase season

Keira May Bussey will have her HSC art project on display as part of ARTEXPRESS, and William Burden's HSC industrial technology project will be displayed in the Shape exhibition.

Ms Bussey's piece, Back to Grandma, is a highly personal celebration of her grandma, through paintings of some of her elder's personal belongings.

"I knew that if I painted something that I wanted to paint, I'd finish it and do the best work I could because I'd have that passion to paint it," Ms Bussey told the Daily Liberal.

"I was starting to think about my family and all the things that brought us together, and it led back to my grandma.

"Dinner at gran's on a Thursday, the ingredients that she uses to make the little biscuits that she gives us. My grandma does a lot of things and has a lot of things."

Ms Bussey's work will be exhibited at the Western Plains Cultural Centre and Mudgee Arts Precinct until May 7.

She said being picked for the showcase was "very unexpected", and she was "proud" of the work she did.

Ms Bussey and her family - including her grandma - will view the exhibition.

"It will be surreal, because my artwork was about my grandma and I'm sure she'll have strong feelings ... [seeing representations of] all her items .... It'll be a great family event," she said.

Ms Bussey's advice to Year 12 students studying art was: "Make sure your major work is something you're passionate about because it'll make it so much easier to paint and be motivated to complete it".

Mr Buden's industrial technology work will be showcased at the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences between March 3 and May 21.

He will go along to view the exhibition with his family and friends he studied woodwork with at school.

Mr Burden's piece is a work bench with two vices that's made from reused timber from the old Dubbo RAAF Base that was decommissioned a couple of years ago.

"We went down to the RAAF Base and collected the timber and sanded it all down to make it presentable," he told the Daily Liberal.

IN OTHER NEWS

"We had to research the timber and what type it was, which was interesting, and the history of the RAAF Base. Then the process took a bit over nine months I'd say, during school, recess and lunch, and after school as well."

He said forming his piece meant a lot to him because he got to spend time chatting with his dad - a former woodwork teacher - about it.

"My dad has been a woodwork teacher for 20 years, he's only just stopped teaching, so it meant a lot that we could bond over the project," he said.

The ex-St Johns College Dubbo students join almost 500 across the state whose creative, performing arts and technologies HSC major works are being showcased in exhibitions including ARTEXPRESS, OnStage, Encore, Callback (Performing Arts) and Shape (Technologies).

Minister for the Arts, Ben Franklin, said he was honoured to celebrate the success of students from the HSC Class of 2022.

"The work they have produced is simply outstanding. I know we will be seeing many of these talented young people excel in the future - whether that's on stage, on the screen, or behind the curtain," Mr Franklin said.