Dozens of area students’ were honored for their creative talents at ArtStart, a exhibition at William Paterson University showcasing area students’ and faculty members’ artwork.

Students from several area high schools, including Wayne Hills, Wayne Valley, DePaul Catholic, and Passaic County Technical Institute, had their work on display at the Power Art Gallery.

Brittany Warther is one of those students. She drew a picture of her young cousin. Warther said she likes to focus on people’s emotions in her artwork.

“I wanted to show her innocence," Warther said. “I started with her face, I’m really interested in people’s faces. I wanted her face to the be focal point of the piece.”

Ashley Zampino, a Wayne Valley student, created a symmetrical print of waves using different shades of blue, along with orange and green.

“I wanted it to pop more,” Zampino said. “I didn’t want the piece to be a straight-on view. I just wanted it to take on a different feel and I think it flows really well.”

It is the uniqueness that each artist brings to his or her creation that Audry Schwind said makes art special.

“We bring our experiences to what we create,” said Schwind, who teaches advanced placement art at Wayne Hills. “The same is true for people who view art. We can all look at a piece of artwork and see something different because of what we’ve been though in our own lives. That’s what art can do: Convey a lot of different messages to a lot of different people from a single piece of work.”

But beyond ability and perception, there’s passion.

“It takes faculty members and students who are passionate about the arts to have a show like this take place,” said Thomas Ulhein, a graphic arts professor at William Paterson. “You can have all the skill in the world and not be driven to succeed. That’s what art really comes down to: Passion.”

The following area students received awards for their artwork: