About the Artist
Etta L. Forry
Fine Artist
Etta Forry (b. 2005, Bloomington, Indiana) is an emerging fine artist pursuing a BFA in Drawing and Painting at Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, California. Focused primarily on representational painting, her work combines classical techniques with imaginative and experimental approaches across multiple mediums.
Knowing early on that she wanted to pursue a career in the arts, she partially unschooled during high school, taking only studio art classes through her local public school while independently completing her core academic studies at home. During that time, she participated in the Summer Apprenticeship Program with the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art (formerly the Snite Museum of Art) at Notre Dame. Her works were recognized in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (2021, 2022, and 2023), and the Congressional Art Competition (2021, 2023).
After earning her high school equivalency diploma (HiSET) in 2023, she began her studies at LCAD, where she received formal training in drawing and painting with an emphasis on representational techniques and old-master approaches to fine art. In spring of 2026, she was nominated for the Plotkin Foundation Art and Writing Scholarship Award.
Forry’s work often falls within imaginative realism, blending traditional practices with experimentation in process and subject matter. Her paintings frequently explore themes of self-reflection, identity, and mortality. Influenced by both classical art traditions and her unconventional educational background, she approaches art-making as a process of observation, inquiry, and psychological exploration. Following graduation, she plans to pursue gallery representation and continue exhibiting and selling her work professionally.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2027 BFA Drawing & Painting; Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Selected Group Shows
2026 Halloween Exhibition 2026; Online Exhibition; KBM Art Gallery Hollywood; October 17th - October 31st
2026 Painting Category; Online Exhibition; Naturalist Gallery of Contemporary Art Painting Collection; October 6th - December 5th, 2026
2026 Almenara Online Exhibition; Almenara Art Prize 2026; Portraiture and Fantastic Realism categories
2026 Landscape and Plein Air Show; Thorne Brothers Coffee, Laguna Beach, CA
2026 Canyon Art Show; Thorne Brothers Coffee, Laguna Beach, CA
2026 Peter and Masha Plotkin Memorial Foundation Exhibition; Mission Viejo, CA
2023 Senior Students Fine Arts Recognition Show; Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
2023 2023 Congressional Art Competition for Indiana’s Second District Exhibition, Congressional Institute; South Bend International Airport, South Bend, IN
2023 Youth Art Month Awards, Tri Kappa, Inc.; Penn Kingsmen Art Gallery, Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
2023 2023 Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition for Northwest Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan Region; South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
2023 Virtual Exhibition; The People Next Door, Holocaust Memorial Art and Writing Competition 2023
2022 2022 Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition for Northwest Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan Region; South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
2022 Virtual Exhibition; The People Next Door, Holocaust Memorial Art and Writing Competition 2022
2021 2021 Snite Museum Summer Apprenticeship Program Exhibition; South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
2021 Virtual Exhibition; 2021 Snite Museum Summer Apprenticeship Program
2021 2021 Congressional Art Competition for Indiana’s Second District Exhibition, Congressional Institute; South Bend International Airport, South Bend, IN
2021 2021 Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition for Northwest Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan Region; South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
2020 Youth Art Month Awards, Tri Kappa, Inc; Penn Kingsmen Art Gallery, Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
AWARDS & HONORS
2026 Finalist For Excellence in Art; Dreamscape 2026; TEN MOIR Gallery
2026 Excellence in Visual Arts Honor; Peter and Masha Plotkin Memorial Foundation
2025 Dean’s List academic honor, Fall 2025 semester, LCAD
2025 President’s List academic honor, Spring 2025 semester, LCAD
2024 President’s List academic honor, Fall 2024 semester, LCAD
2024 President’s List academic honor, Spring 2024 semester, LCAD
2023 Dean’s List academic honor, Fall 2023 semester, LCAD
2023 Top 10 Finalist; 2023 Congressional Art Competition for Indiana’s Second District, Congressional Institute
2023 Honorable Mention; The People Next Door, Holocaust Memorial Art and Writing Competition 2023
2023 1st Place Blue Ribbon, Youth Art Month Awards; Tri Kappa, Inc., Province XII, Mishawaka Chapter, Mishawaka, IN
2023 Gold Key for “Peacock Eyes”; 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2023 Silver Key for “Felicia”; 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2023 Silver Key for “The Lure of Light”; 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Scholastic Docent Award; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region, South Bend Museum Of Art, South Bend, IN
2022 Gold Key for “Danu”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Gold Key for “Extravagance”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Silver Key for “Braids”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Silver Key for “Kaida”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Silver Key for “Bell for Prayer”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Honorable Mention for “I am the Pedestal”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Honorable Mention for “ROA de Amalibus”; 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2022 Honorable Mention; The People Next Door, Holocaust Memorial Art and Writing Competition 2022
2021 Silver Key for “Love Dear Inez”; 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2021 Honorable Mention for “Teras”; 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Art Region
2020 1st Place Blue Ribbon, Youth Art Month Awards; Tri Kappa, Inc., Province XII, Mishawaka Chapter, Mishawaka, IN
DEMONSTRATIONS, LECTURES, & ADDITIONAL WORKSHOPS
2023 Student Assistant; Penn High School Fine Arts Department, Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
2022 Student Assistant; Penn High School Fine Arts Department, Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
2022 & 2021 Camp Counselor/Instructor’s Assistant; Summer Art Camp, Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
