High school artists add to festive look of downtown Homewood

When people congregate on Martin Avenue in Homewood for the Holiday Lights Festival on Friday, the storefront windows will help set the mood, thanks to the weekend work of two Homewood-Flossmoor High School artists.

Nina Harris and Lucy Sloan, both seniors, were enlisted by the village to paint winter scenes on the south side storefront windows of the Triumph Building at 2033 Ridge Road. By early Saturday afternoon a snowy landscape, complete with snowman, was taking shape.

They didn’t have an elaborate plan for the project, Sloan said, but were “kind of making it up as we go along.”

Harris said she’s not currently taking art classes at H-F, and sees art as more of a hobby.

Sloan has studied art and has done shows of her work. She was the first student artist featured at Loulou Belle, a local vintage goods boutique that often features the work of local artists, shortly after the shop opened in February.

Her exhibit at the shop included painting of a city skyline emerging from a person’s head, skyscrapers reaching for the stars as if the city was dreamed into existence.

The painting was one of six in the display. 

“That’s Chicago,” she said at the time. “It was fun to try to combine architecture and space.”

Sloan said she was grateful for the opportunity to do the February show. Not only was it a chance to find an audience for her work, but shop owners Dodi Wians and Lisa Komorowski provided advice about how to present and market her art work.

“I’m not used to selling my stuff at all,” she said. It’s great to be in a community that is so helpful with that kind of thing.”

She said she learned how to create prints of her work and how to price them. 

Sloan said she has been interested in art most of her life, but she credits H-F for helping her develop as an artist. 

“I’ve been drawing since as early as I can remember,” she said. “But the programs at H-F have really helped me refine my talent. At H-F, we have a stellar art department.”

Holiday Lights runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, and includes shopping and family entertainment. 

Related story:
New community holiday tree will make its debut Dec. 2 at Holiday Lights (H-F Chronicle, Nov. 2, 2016)