Three William Floyd High School students in Theresa Bianco’s Portfolio Preparation class - Isabella Humberstone, James Start and Coco Wang - were recently selected as winners in the Town of Brookhaven’s fifth annual Lunar New Year Art Show! This art show, done in collaboration with the Asian American Association of Greater Stony Brook (AAAGSB) and the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Advisory Board (AANHPI), invited students to submit artwork relating to the 2025 Lunar New Year and the Year of the Snake, a zodiac animal that symbolizes intuition, strategy and intelligence.

Students from across Long Island created artwork for the show, with first through third place winners being chosen from several different age groups. Out of a field of 50 total student-artists, William Floyd student-artists won first through third place for grades 10-12! Isabella Humberstone took first place with her piece titled “Four Leaf Year Snake;” James Start took second place with his piece titled “The Mystical, Meandering Serpent;” and Coco Wang took third placed with her piece titled “Guardian of Balance.” Additionally, four other William Floyd students - Savannah Klein, Madison Orlando, Hannah Schultzer and Khrys Zapata - had their artwork selected for display.

All seven of the participating William Floyd students’ artworks were exhibited at the Brookhaven Town Hall art gallery from throughout most of January and part of February. They were also invited to attend the Year of the Snake Award Ceremony on February 2, where the winners were honored and all of the participants received a certificate of appreciation from the Brookhaven Town Office.

Congratulations to all of the William Floyd students who submitted their artwork! See below for photos of the winning artwork and accompanying descriptions from the student-artists.

"Four Leaf Year Snake" by Isabella Humberstone
“I have drawn four leaves to represent the four seasons. The green color represents the Asian vine snake native to China. I wanted the snake to be long and winding to represent the length of the whole year.”

"The Mystical, Meandering Serpent" by James Start
“My artwork is heavily based on the symbolism behind the Chinese zodiac snake. I added the camellia flower, the snakes meander downward. The traditional writing at the bottom explains how the Chinese zodiac snake is mysterious and misunderstood. The boxed caption and text are inspired by traditional Japanese artwork. The snake’s dragon-like head is based on a sculpture I came across while researching.”

"Guardian of Balance" by Coco Wang
“The snake coils around the Yin and Yang as the guardian of nature. The snake becomes the core of the drawing being red and guardian of the spirit of Yin and Yang. The snake itself is based on the Chinese leopard snake, known for their prominent spots, so I used gold color to make them pop more. The drawing represents the nature of wildlife intertwining with the ideas of balance as it was foretold from the beginning of time.”