Natural beauty captured in artwork
Events
Artwork by Catholic school students was on display in the 2025 SACE Art Show, which showcased impressive works by 136 students from across South Australia who completed SACE Art Visual and Design in 2024.
Held at Light Square Gallery, Adelaide College of the Arts, the Art Show included paintings, drawings, sculptures, costumes, and multimedia works selected from 313 nominations.
Themes covered identity, disconnection, body image, natural beauty, gaming, mental health and music.
Nine students received awards, including Mary MacKillop College 2024 graduate Sophia Guth who won the Eckersley’s Art and Craft Encouragement Award for her illustrations of barn owls.
Mary MacKillop College 2024 graduate Sophia Guth won the Eckersley’s Art and Craft Encouragement Award.
Her work, titled ‘Further to Fly’ was inspired by the “incredible detail and pure beauty” observed in the feathered creatures.
“When looking closely at them, I am amazed by the intricate patterns in their feathers which uniquely vary from bird to bird,” Sophia said.
“I also love their distinctive heart-shaped face and dark soulful eyes. Their natural elegance and complexity inspired me to capture it in my art.”
The thing I love most about the creative process is that I get to be in control of every detail, and craft a creation which completely comes from my own visions. I also love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish a piece.”
Sophia’s largest piece took approximately 180 hours to make.
“As each feather is constructed with hundreds of tiny individual lines, it gets very repetitive and not only hurts my hand, but also sometimes gets me very frustrated,” she said.
The award affirmed Sophia’s hard work and dedication: “It’s a reminder that even when I get frustrated with my craft, it is worth it to keep going.”
She also won the won the schools category in the Adelaide Parklands Art Prize.
Sophia hopes to pursue a career in art and said she would love to have my own art business.
Winning art by Mercedes College graduate Laura Seach.
The Adelaide Central School of Art Award was presented to Mercedes College graduate Laura Seach for her oil pastel series titled ‘Strangers in Nature’.
“The inspiration came from a concept called “sonder” which is basically the idea that everyone around you has an individual life as complex as one’s own,” Laura said.
“I began to think about what connects us all as people, and I think that’s where I thought about how everyone is connected through nature.”
Laura was also inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s mark making technique.
“I love the meditative aspect of actually sitting down and completing an artwork,” she said.
Mercedes College graduate Laura Seach.
“The most challenging part was collecting reference photos of people I didn’t know. A big part of the piece is the fact that they are real people and people with no connection to one another, other than in nature.”
For reference, Laura took photographs of people in the Mount Barker’s Laratinga Wetlands.
“I found it intimidating to walk up to strangers and ask for their photo but people were generally welcoming.”
For Laura, who is currently on a gap year before studying Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience, the award felt like recognition and validation of the work she put in.
“I feel grateful that my works have been perceived so positively,” she said. “I think most artists can doubt the quality of their work, so I was surprised and grateful that I was chosen for this award. It’s also amazing to have a voucher for an art course so I can continue learning and practicing art.”
The Art Show concluded on April 10 but an online gallery can be viewed at sace.sa.edu.au/events/art-show
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