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Florida sticks to art passion during quarantine

In a time where new forms of entertainment seem to be wearing thin, senior Logan Florida has found ways to keep himself busy. The future School of the Art Institute of Chicago student has kept himself immersed in the crafts that he is so passionate about—painting and design—by means of a sticker company and a large watercolor painting, all while continuing to juggle the final weeks of school work at St. Louis U. High.

    Before the global pandemic, Florida was approached by his friend Audrey Beyersdorfer, a student at Althoff High School, who told him she was interested in partnering with him to create a sticker company. The original idea she proposed to Florida was small-scale, but Florida, seeing the potential to expand the market to a broader audience, suggested that the duo create a website for the company, which they aptly titled, ‘Stuck with You.’

    “We got involved in a partnership in the company, and so I suggested that we should broaden our horizons beyond the original idea for a pamphlet and create a website,” said Florida.

The website is still underway, but Florida has been working on creating bright, playful designs that teens may want to stick on laptops, notebooks, or binders. The sticker business is a growing market, and with Florida’s visual expertise, there was no reason he would pass up an offer to play around with design and make some money from it as a bonus.

But the business isn’t just for personal gain. Florida says that he plans to donate a portion of the

profits to Feeding America, a non-profit providing food to more than 46 million people nationwide.

“I offered my help with (the design component of the company) because I can do the graphic stuff,” said Florida. “But I started to think that we could make (the business) a bigger thing, and that’s when I suggested that a portion of profits could go to Feeding America because I thought that would be a good way to help mitigate the coronavirus.”

Outside of his growing entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts, Florida has also continued to work on one long term project of his that has been in the works for months: a 22” x 32” watercolor of a ballerina. The piece was originally supposed to go up for sale at Cashbah, but with the auction moving fully online, Florida decided to pull the piece in order to be able to spend the amount of time on it that he believes it deserves. He says the painting is two months along, but is only about halfway done.

“I’ve finished the skin tones and the hair, but the dress and the shoes still need to be painted,” said Florida.

Hopefully come the fall, Florida will be continuing to refine his artistic talents at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which boasts alumni like Georgia O’Keefe and David Spalding, but in the meantime, he’s just trying to keep himself busy in the best way he knows how.

“Art has definitely been an escape during the quarantine because it has allowed me to channel all sorts of energy into a productive outlet,” said Florida. “Right now, it’s just been hard being away from the guys for so long, but I think I’m getting through.”

 

 


 

 

 

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