For teenagers in the group Women 2 Be at Raw Art Works in Lynn, the exhibit "Reach" started with a visit to a palm reader.
"She told us about our personality, which was interesting," said Alex Gilligan, 16. "And she gave us words about who we are and what we have gained in our life, and what we need to work on."
Using large, thick cardboard cutouts of a hand, the artists incorporated those observations on one side and on the other used black-and-white oil pastels to draw self-portraits.
"The idea is that they are holding things that are really important in their palm and trying to reach some of their goals," said Mary Flannery, founder of RAW and leader of the Women 2 Be group. "And they have some dark areas that reflect when they get off their path and what happens when they are not managing their lives very well."
For Gilligan, each line in her palm represented a new talent, such as being fair, gaining maturity, being independent, and longing for new opportunities. The dark area included getting bored easily and lying, which, she said, "is not a great trend of mine."
For "Reach," which opened in RAW's new ground-floor gallery at 37 Central Square Thursday, all of the young artists - ages 6 to 19 - were asked to complete the statement "RAW helped me reach inside myself and find . . ." and create a piece of art depicting his or her personal reach.
"I like this project because it told me a lot about myself," said Colby Correnti, 15, of Swampscott. "I did a lot of figuring out about where I need to be right now."
The dark side of her palm read "dangerous temper" and showed a split between love and family. But her fingertips were "reaching for better judgment."
"I need to make better choices, which this has helped me a lot with," Correnti said. "My ambition is going to college in a few years."
Lilly Do, 16, of Swampscott, liked the peach color she mixed for the background of her portrait because it was "as unique" as she is. She listed her positive qualities as trust, loyalty, and energy, and because she cherishes family and friends, she placed them in a treasure box in the center of her palm.
In the dark section was the pressure she always puts on herself. But over it was a ladder reaching for "the pursuit of happiness."
WENDY KILLEEN
