Several Hoover High School students were invited to showcase their work at the Ecology opening reception, a professional gallery exhibition celebrating student artists, in February.
The featured students are part of Hoover’s Ceramics CTE program, led by Gina Brownstein. Participants included Jaelynn Romano, Violetta Castro-Brownstein, Chassiel Joie Medina, Eli Quinn Reeves Tordilla, and Austin Gonzaga.
“I feel really proud to have my students’ work displayed in a public gallery,” Brownstein said. “It’s a really special opportunity to see their work presented professionally and treated as professional art.”
Students were selected for the show after submitting their projects for consideration. For many, being chosen was both surprising and affirming.
“It was nice. I didn’t think I would be accepted because of how it looked in the end,” Romano said. “It’s a professional art exhibit, and I didn’t think my art was worthy of making it into the show. It just showed me that I shouldn’t doubt myself.”
The theme of the exhibition was Neighborhood Ecology, encouraging artists to reflect on their communities and environments.
“I’ve lived in L.A. all my life, and it’s such a well-known city that there are so many opinions about it,” said Quinn Reeves Tordilla. “I feel grateful to experience the real parts of it, and it was really cool to see everyone’s art based on a city that I love so much.”
The exhibition is part of the 2026 Hyper SoCal initiative, which raises awareness of nonprofit and municipal art venues that support working artists throughout Southern California.
Many of the students’ pieces hold personal meaning and represent months of dedication and revision.
“I felt accomplished because it took a lot of work and time,” Medina said. “I had to let go of a lot of pieces to keep the ones I have now.”
In addition to exhibiting her work, Castro-Brownstein was offered an internship at the Grand Libraries Gallery.
“The internship was amazing. It gave me so many new opportunities, and I was able to contribute during our workshop day before the opening,” Castro-Brownstein said. “It was really just incredible, and I was able to meet so many amazing students.”
