Sotos chose her friend, Sophie Thai, a fellow senior at West, as a model as the “One Girl” in her photos.
“She just kind of had a timeless look about her face,” Sotos said. “I wanted someone who looked like they could be part of each time period.”
Thai, who has modeled for her friend before, said Sotos “always does my makeup kind of fancy.” Thai said Sotos always has a particular concept she is trying to achieve and directs her to take on certain moods.
She said the two found props to represent the time periods from items they had on hand.
“We were trying to get a specific look but obviously we don’t have clothes from 1910 so we had to kind of improvise,” Thai said.
Sotos said Claire Roszkowski, her ceramics teacher at West, has continuously supported her artistic endeavors, helped her grow and branch out as an artist and pursue different opportunities.
Roszkowski has seen Sotos’ photography and says she is deserving of the award.
“She is such a creative and prolific artist, she is always just making something,” Roszkowski said.
She has been impressed by how Sotos takes assignments to another level. One example was a coil pot she made after Roszkowski sent home 15 pounds of clay and some tools when students were learning at home last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than creating a typical coil pot, Sotos built in the profile of a woman’s face and her hair.
