Tamarac Teen Talents Shine Bright as Young Artists Grace Museum Walls

by Martin Lenkowsky April 14, 2024

by Martin Lenkowsky April 14, 2024 309 views

Tamarac Teen Talents Shine Bright as Young Artists Grace Museum Walls

Left to right. Sebastian Diaz, Veronika Elsner, Alexandra Pushkin, Jaeleen Charles-Pierre, and Rajae Cameron at the school’s media center. (Martin Lenkowsky)

Jaeleen Charles-Pierre is just one of many artists whose creations add beauty and value to museum walls.

Nothing too out of the ordinary, correct? Except for the fact that Jaeleen is only 16 and a student at Millenium 6-12 Collegiate Academy in Tamarac.

Her 2-D creation, Hands of Song, was selected for display at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, Superintendent Gallery, from 2024 to 2025.

Jaeleen is one of four students of Alexandra Pushkin, an Advanced Placement (AP) 2-D Art & Design/Art History teacher at the school, with works of art on display.

Veronika Elsner’s The Girl I Want To Be is at the South Side Cultural Arts Center, along with Sebastian Diaz’s Let It Happen. Rajae Cameron’s Untitled is at the Youth Arts Month Exhibit at the Kathleen C. Wright Administration Center.

Pushkin says her students’ artwork is based on an inquiry (or question) selected by each of them. Jaeleen’s topic was “how music affects us?” Hands of Song, done with marker and pencil, “tries to depict how a series of emotions are connected to music emanating from a phone,” Jaeleen said.

Veronika, 15, says her portfolio ponders the question, “How does cell phone addiction affect reality?” Her digital creation, The Girl I Want To Be, portrays a young girl looking at herself in a mirror while holding her cell phone. “She’s thinking she could be that girl,” Veronika says. “She feels really insecure about herself.”

The girl in the mirror is both a “little bit of myself as well as a made-up character, she explains.

Sebastian, 15, says his artwork describes how he feels and experiences day-to-day life through his imagination when he listens to music. “I do everything in pencil,” he says, displaying a penciled drawing of a young person on his sketch pad. He said the subject of his drawing partially represents himself.

Looking toward the future, Sebastian is thinking of pursuing an artistic career. “Probably an animator, or just a well-renowned artist, or a comic artist,” he said.

Both Veronika and Jaeleen are considering careers in medicine. Jaeleen adds, “I want to study dermatology.”

Rajae, 16, a school art club member, enjoys drawing people. He says that he follows whatever requirements the club wants for his projects. He said seeing his art displayed for the public to view was really cool. “It’s a great opportunity for me.”

Needless to say, Pushkin is proud of her students and their accomplishments. “I did cry a little bit,” she admits upon learning their respective projects were selected for public viewing. “I am in awe of their work every single day. I’m so proud of them.”

She says watching their artwork progress enables her to actually get to know them better than some of their other teachers might because the art comes from their hearts.

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Martin Lenkowsky

Martin Lenkowsky moved to Coral Springs from NYC in 1982. He has a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. He has been both writer and editor for a number of South Florida publications since 1983. He considers features writing his specialty.