Gallery • 2 Photos

Elizabeth Trevathan

Gross works on editing a photo during her Honors Art Seminar class. While in the presence of other student-artists, Gross said, "I can get really inspired from one of my peers’ drawings or the way that they think about art, even if our art forms are really different."

Noa Ní Aoláin Gross, a student in the Honors Art Seminar, has dove right into the class this fall as a way to further explore her passion for taking photos. Surrounded by student artists of various disciplines, Gross has found the environment to be unique and beneficial for her own creativity. “I think it’s just such a cool space to be in… I can get really inspired from one of my peers’ drawings or the way that they think about art, even if our art forms are really different,” Gross said.

Gross really started getting into photography during freshman year after taking the elective and has been working with Ms. Motta to submit her work into competitions ever since. Now that the Honors Art Seminar is getting started, Gross has been focused on creating as much as possible. “I’m a writer as well, I do a lot of creative writing,” she said. “So I’ve been working on creating photographs for different pieces of writing that I’ve done in the past.”

One of Gross’s greatest inspirations is Humans of New York, a series featuring interviews and photographs of thousands of New Yorkers. The series captures the uniqueness of individual experiences and stories, something Gross herself seeks to capture through the photos she takes. She said, “I realized that I got really inspired by these ideas of collecting stories; so not just photographing a moment, but really creating a story around a photograph that you take.”

Gross continues to take photographs because, for her, art is powerful and has the ability to instill a sense of peace and tranquility. “Part of [art] is really making, and creating, and preserving these beautiful moments. Then there’s the additional part that is the personal joy of being able to relax… and enjoy being in the moment of making something amazing,” Gross said.

The Honors Art Seminar class will be putting together portfolios later this semester, and creating a gallery of their artwork next semester. Gross looks forward to this opportunity to share her work with the SPA community.