2013 Cover Contest Finalist – Gianna Mangicaro “Paper Lion”

Gianna Mangicaro, a senior in upstate New York, took her first art class as a junior and created Paper Lion Sculpture. “The project came to be because I didn’t want to do the normal. I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone. It took me about a whole week to do this significant art piece.” Gianna says she also wanted a larger piece and she estimates the art to be about three feet by four feet.

“I am pleased that I had such success in my first art class,” she says. The piece is white paper cut and designed to make the lion’s face and mane. Each strand of the mane was placed individually. “I am still making art, but with all the classes for college preparation and several AP courses, I couldn’t take an art class. I do whatever pops into my head. I may find something on the computer that inspires me. I taught myself how to crochet because I was bored one day.” She learned she dislikes charcoal as an artist’s medium. “We were doing a self-portrait where we had to draw half our face and the other half was the skeleton underneath the skin. It was so messy. I really like paper sculptures. It’s my favorite.”

Along with school work and art during her free time, Gianna is also involved in her school’s drama club and DECA (Distributive Educational Clubs of America), an organization that looks at marketing, finance, hospitality, business management or entrepreneurship. During the musicals, she has served as a dance leader to teach the cast the steps to dances for the school musicals. Along with school and art, Gianna is also a black belt in karate and is an avid horseback rider. “I sometimes volunteer with children who have disabilities and enjoy a therapeutic horseback ride.”

Her college could take her into the world of nursing. “I am still looking at college but I am interested in neonatal care or intensive care nursing,” she says. “I like math and science and math is my favorite subject. During a visit to a NICU, I saw that the nurses made colorful and well-designed name tags for the babies and I realized I could bring my art to work too.”