Anyone who knows Miranda Moscatelli ‘17 knows that she is never without a pen or pencil in hand. Often spotted coming in and out of the art room throughout the day, she remarks that the class has become a ‘safe place’ for her.

Moscatelli is currently in AP Art and has taken art classes each year of her high school career. She started taking the subject more seriously in her sophomore year, realizing that it was more than a pastime activity. “I want this in my life forever,” she said “I want art to be more than just a hobby.”

At a young age, Moscatelli developed a passion for art. “My furthest back memory of art was drawing in first grade,” she said “The teacher gave us a sentence and we had to draw a picture to describe it. I remember that being one of the things I looked forward to the most.” She likes to look back on those drawings, and she still has her journal from first grade.

Moscatelli currently has several sketchbooks and two art journals in the works. Everywhere she goes, she brings a journal with her, just in case inspiration strikes. “I find it to be really healing. It’s nice to have a group of things you hold dear to you and that inspire you, things that you can look back on–a book of things that make you happy,” she said.

As for her current projects, Moscatelli is working on a series of environmental portraits that will be put into a collection. “It is one of my favorite pieces so far because has a lot of sentimental meaning,” she said “It is going to represent my grandfather through pieces that don’t need his face for you to know it is about him.” Her brother, Michael ‘19 agreed that his grandfather’s presence in this specific artwork is apparent.

Inspiration is a difficult concept for many artists. When asked where she gets her inspiration, Moscatelli emphasized her love of Pinterest. She often uses social media to help her construct ideas. Moscatelli is also inspired by both her peers–including Gwen Bergstrom ‘17 and Abby Ouellette ‘15–and art teacher Lina Pepper. “[Pepper] has really influenced my work. The passion that she has for art is something I’ve always looked up to,” Moscatelli said.

Moscatelli’s favorite medium is graphite; she enjoys drawing in black and white. “I just keep scribbling,” she said with a laugh. She explores other mediums from time to time, including watercolor and ink. She often finds herself drawing humans and facial features. “Each face is unique and has tons of detail, which is what I love,” she added.

Following graduation, Moscatelli aspires to pursue an art therapy major. It is her love of both psychology and art that have helped pave her career path: “I don’t want to be a person that grows up and says ‘Oh, I used to do art all the time and now I have no time for it.’

“I want [art] to be there all the time. It heals me and I want to share that healing with other people.”

(See “Art Therapy: Expressing Ineffable Emotions” for further detail on art therapy)

Moscatelli’s overall passion is transparent through her emotion as she describes the unpredictability of art. “It makes me happy,” she said “I like that there is no right or wrong about it. Some people like math, and that’s great. But when it comes to math, there is a definite right or wrong solution. With art, things can be interpreted several different ways and there is no one definitive answer. If you put a bunch of artists in the same room and have them draw the same thing you are going to get unique interpretations. It is so unique and so personable.”

Moscatelli encourages any budding artist to continue to exercise artistic abilities.“Even if you think you can’t, you can.”