Photo courtesy of Cardinal McCarrick High School
Splash of talent: Local student brings color to school
By James McEvoy
Staff Writer
SOUTH AMBOY — Abstract artist Jackson Pollock once said “every good painter paints what he is.” If there is any validity to that statement, then student Angela Schneider could only be described as truly remarkable.
Instead of sunbathing at a beach, watching any number of summer box office hits or enjoying time away from school, Schneider spent approximately a month and a half in the very place most students would dread to be in.
The senior at Cardinal McCarrick High School has become the building’s artist in residence after spending much of her summer painting an impressive mural in a science lab.
Because of her efforts, a new ocean scene splashes life and vibrant color onto what otherwise we may have been pale lifeless walls.
What makes Schneider and her impressive work so remarkable are not only her obvious artistic talents but that she does such work using only her left arm.
She was born missing her right arm but has never let her disability hold her back and even went so far as to say it has never been a setback to her artwork.
Schneider taught herself to paint and draw with her left hand and said she never experienced any problems developing her talent.
She believes she has had a good sense of humor regarding her disability and then proved that point by saying the only problem that came to mind is when she would have to climb a ladder while holding paint.
If anything, she described the effects of her artistic expression as purely therapeutic.
“I find solace in painting” she said, adding that she finds “personal comfort” in expressing herself through art.
Whenever she does feel saddened or depressed, she finds a release and emotional revival through making drawings and sketches.
Mary Jo Raite, the science teacher whose lab class was transformed by Schneider, can’t say enough about the young artist and her abilities.
“She is an amazing person,” Raite said, “She is a magnificent person, all around.”
Raite said when she asked Schneider to paint the mural she had no idea it was going to be so “fabulous.”
She also noted how Schneider had no apparent pre-drawings.
“She had it in her mind and just painted,” she said.
Raite said she admires the way Schneider doesn’t let the disability affect her life or use it as an excuse.
“She does not fall back on it,” she said.
Surprisingly enough, when Schneider departs for college next year, she intends to major in biology with an art minor despite her life-long passion for painting.
Apart from painting, she enjoys drawing and making sketches. She also hopes to expand her knowledge and experiences in art including sculpting, a form of art she has always been interested in.
Her artwork has also been in various sceneries and background designs for plays both at Cardinal McCarrick High School and the Sayreville Main Street Theatre Company.
Although she has yet to set a career path, she is certain that art will always be a passionate hobby for her to indulge in.
But before she gets too ahead of herself, Schneider still has some unfinished business at CMHS as she has been asked to lend her artistic talent to other parts of the school, including one of the other science labs and the library.
One of her upcoming murals at the school will portray a mountain range from Canada and there have also been requests to add a dolphin and sunset to her already impressive ocean mural.
She seemed eager to get back to making murals for the school, or just about any other opportunity to express herself through her artwork.
“I find comfort in doing it.”
