The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) — A chance meeting with Covington artist Cheyenne Renee, muralist and painter, became a great opportunity for Alleghany High School senior Nicole Frye.
Nicole recently assisted in a well-received mural near the Covington Depot where local artists transformed concrete walls into a vivid flower garden.
Nicole normally works in pencil and her art usually features one color. She accepted the invitation to assist with the depot project to help beautify the city and work with colorful paints.
Before she worked on her section of the mural, she thought about how to best use isolation and collage to blend with other sections of the mural.
The mural was a collaborative project that involved the work of several local artists. Nicole worked with DeShawn Wooding, Leigh Woodward, Marc Whitney, Lacy Meyer, and Cheyenne Renee to bring the project to fruition. Nicole was the youngest artist, and she learned about painting on different surfaces and color mixing.
In addition to art classes at Alleghany High School, Nicole also learns from observing other artists including on YouTube. She personalizes her works with her initials “hidden” in drawings even when she also signs the piece.
Nicole had recently taken a break from her art, which is usually hyper realistic. Her scratchboard “Salvation” won the Virginia School Boards Association Blue Ridge Regional Art Contest in 2023. Nicole considers that work not to be among her best, but several local leaders have
commented on the thoughtful nature of the award-winning work. She had considered the name
“Reflection” for the piece, and she still prefers working with graphite drawing to scratchboard.
“Salvation” was selected by school board members to represent AHPS.
“Nicole’s vocabulary for discussing the use of concepts such as value and color in her work is tremendous,” said Superintendent Kim Halterman. “As you might expect from an artist, she is also a sharp observer of people and human behavior.”
Nicole does take requests for commissioned work and appreciates when requestors respect the emotionality of her art, concentrating on drawings. She finds portraiture satisfying and likes to capture expressions in detail. The work engages her creative thinking, and even though it requires a great deal of effort, she prefers a photographic quality to her finished pieces. She believes these works make unique keepsakes because of the level of focus they require.
Nicole enjoys many creative endeavors including hip-hop dancing and baking, having many artistic passions. In the future, she hopes to study at Mountain Gateway Community College and is open to several diverse career paths.
At school, Nicole also likes history and is particularly engaged by Alleghany’s history teacher Steven Huffman, her U.S. and Virginia History teacher.
“He made it easy [to focus on the work],” Nicole said “I like learning about our past.”
Her favorite class at Alleghany has been African-American History. She is hopeful that the Alleghany Highlands will continue to grow in its understanding of different races and ethnicities.
“Nicole actively participated in every discussion and always tried to see every perspective or viewpoint in every event we covered in class. She has a passion and a curiosity for understanding why things happened and how we became the country we are today,” said Huffman.
Nicole credits several people in the community with inspiring her, including her brothers Nick Frye ‘25 (Alleghany High School) and Cameron Frye ‘20 (Covington High School), both of whom are steady, supportive, and wise presences in her lives. She also gives credit to her parents, both of whom she describes as strong leaders and good people. Olivia Bell ‘25, a good friend and auto tech student at JRTC, inspires and relaxes Nicole with her out-of-pocket humor.
AHPS serves approximately 2,700 students. The school division is jointly funded by Alleghany County and the City of Covington. The school division was formed when Alleghany County Public Schools, Covington City Public Schools, and Jackson River Technical Center merged on July 1, 2022.
AHPS news and events are regularly updated on Facebook at AHPublicSchools and Instagram at ahpublicschools. Information is also available at ahpublicschools.
