One special memory that senior Emily Stafford recalls is getting lau lau with her father from Takamiya Market as a child. 

This memory inspired the first art piece she painted for her AP Art course at Seabury Hall, starting over summer break.

“It’s a little local store in Happy valley just past the main part of Wailuku town,” said Stafford on Feb. 9 in the Castle Library on campus. “I have memories of my dad going to get lau lau there because they make really good stuff, but he specifically loved the lau lau.” 

Her theme is highlighting historical buildings on Maui that she also has a connection with. This project is her way of experiencing the island before going off to college.

“Getting ready to leave and go off to college, as a senior, it’s been my way of taking one last look,” said Stafford. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to appreciate everything in the same way that I do now.”

Stafford is a part of the rigorous AP Art course, along with a few other seniors. Students must pick a theme to use throughout the year, and produce fifteen original pieces to add to their portfolio.

“In no other situation would I have painted fifteen pieces this year,” Stafford said when asked about the course. “So it’s really cool that I get to come out of this with all the pieces that I painted.”

Throughout her life, Stafford has always been inspired by art. When she was little, it played a big part in her childhood.

“Art in general has always been a thing that I’ve enjoyed, like arts and crafts,” said Stafford. “I was into scrapbooking for a while, it’s always kind of been a thing for me.”

Taking art classes in highschool has reignited that same passion in the senior.

“For a long time, like in middle school, I got kind of discouraged with art,” Stafford explained. “I started picking it back up in highschool, in sophomore year when I took a [beginning] painting class.”

Since then, Stafford has taken intermediate painting before advancing to the AP Art level. She was drawn to the course because of the challenge it posed.

“It seemed like the next class I could take to challenge myself,” Stafford said.

With her paintings, Stafford not only captures the buildings themselves but also the personal and cultural significance that these buildings have. One of her paintings comes from memories at Kepaniwai Park in Wailuku. 

“We went there a lot when I was a kid, and I remember all the buildings and running around,” said Stafford.

Staffords’ art was showcased in the Seabury Hall Cooper House during the week of Feb. 5, along with two other AP Art students.

To paint these structures and the memories that go along with them, Stafford uses acrylic paint. She appreciates the coverage it provides, and the ease that it moves on the canvas.

“I get pretty detail focused and acrylic is really easy to get those details,” she said, “I would say that it is one of the easier mediums to work with.”

Stay tuned for more feature stories highlighting AP Art students.