Sumter's Next Generation, presented by TheLINK: Wilson Hall's Liz Singkhonket honors community, culture, confidence through canvas

For Wilson Hall senior Elizabeth Singkhonket, art is both a mirror and a map. Her artwork starts where, for a lot of teens, stories get complicated: finding our identity. And while navigating it is filled with highs and lows, she finds her way through the power of the color palette.

Liz, as she's affectionately known, was molded by the brushstroke and creative capabilities of art through her mother, who attended art college in Thailand. Having attended school in Thailand for 10 months as a child and spent her formative years in Sumter has played a major role in her artwork and shaped her artistic identity.

Through the years, she has tried her hand at different forms of artistic expression, from graphite drawing and colored pencil work to ceramics, sculpture - the list goes on. But her preferred medium, the one that creates a sense of freedom and free-flowing self-expression, is painting.

"Painting - I just feel a lot more free, and I'm able to express myself more," she shared. "I really love color, so I think I can get a wide variety of tones and subtle shifts in color."

And that comes through in her artwork. Liz's creative eye catches the depth of the space an object takes up and details that otherwise are glossed over by the naked eye. Her attention to light, shape, shade and details makes the most complex of artwork - like in "Still Life," which aimed to capture the relationship between various colors, textures and shapes "within a meticulously arranged composition."

Her creative process is one that begins with a general idea, referencing real-life images for accuracy and pulling to the depths of her imagination for the concept. A sole train on the tracks, a temple backlit by a beautiful sunset or a photograph of her early years transform into pieces that are both pleasing to the eye and a reflection of who Liz is, as an artist and a being. Signature themes in her artwork range from pieces that reflect her identity and personal history to her cultural duality and emotional storytelling. Her mixed-media identity piece depicts a young Liz, posed in her school uniform in Thailand, alongside her current high school senior self in a similar uniform. The portraits were painted on a canvas base, and images of her two academic worlds were pieced around the two portraits, visually symbolic of how her identity was formed.

The final pieces often differ from her original expectations, but the process pushes her to try something new, to continue to cultivate her creative skills in light of all the recognition she has received. And her skills have been recognized on grand stages.

Most recently, Liz took home first place in ceramics at the annual S.C. Independent School Association State Art Fair, along with 13 ribbons she earned across multiple visual art categories, including sculpture, painting, collage and drawing. In previous years, she has submitted to ArtFields Jr. and was named a regional winner; placed second statewide in the Congressional Art Competition, where she was interviewed by Congressman Ralph Norman; earned two honorable mentions in the Scholastic Art Competition; has taken home first place in painting and second place in ceramics at the Sumter County Fair; and was selected as a senior participant in the Pathfinders Exhibit, to be hosted at Sumter County Gallery of Art later this year. Within the walls of Wilson Hall, she has earned numerous Lamp of Knowledge awards for the highest academic average in her ceramics, graphic design and drawing classes.

Humble about her honors, Liz's greatest accomplishment is seeing the growth in her work.

"I feel I'm always improving in every aspect. Like with painting, I believe that I'm very skilled at it, but when I look at other pieces, some of my older works and current works, I like to compare them to each other and see how far I've come," she explained. "I want to continue improving and really challenge myself because with all of my pieces that I've done this year for AP drawing, I've tried to really push myself and try something new every time, and that helps me learn along the way."

But her learning is not only for her betterment. Within Wilson Hall's art realm, Liz is seen as a leader among her peers. She helps them refine their artwork, provides constructive feedback and, according to her teacher Tara Breslin-Shumacher, the students respect her insight and ability to critique without discouraging others. Be it in her traditional art classes or while being lead set designer in the school's theater classes, in two words, Liz is a "role model," and it's a role she doesn't take lightly.

"I've learned by helping other students or just friends that want to get into art, I have to put my own worries aside because I like helping other people," she expressed. "I think everyone has a different perspective on [art], and I think some people need more guidance with it as well, so I think it's really helpful to see it from a different perspective."

To Liz, art is more than what lies on a canvas. It's a means of emotional expression, communicates ideas in ways words cannot, evokes emotions in others and creates a bridge between one's memory and creativity. Which is why she is determined to nurture it after high school graduation, choosing to major in art college and explore how far she can go creatively and professionally.

And she wants her peers to do the same.

"I really want up-and-coming artists or even younger students to know that art is something that you use to express yourself with. It's not just something to sell; it really does bring joy … and brings out emotions in people," she assured. "It's really important, too, because there's a lot of nuances in certain things and in the world as well, so I think art is something that's really important to have and to use as a vehicle [to showcase] that."