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Her inner-senior citizen figures prominently in ‘‘An Unexplainable Feeling of Nostalgia,” her solo exhibition at the School of Art and Design of Montgomery College as part of winning the 2007 Ida F. Haimovicz Visual Arts Award through the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. Wides was honored with a reception June 12; her work will be on display weekdays until July 8.

All of Wides’ art represents part of her life or something that feels familiar to her. So the vivid landscape photographs of College Park and New York’s Catskill Mountains hang near small, mixed media collages depicting scenes from western United States towns between the Great Depression and the aftermath of World War II.

‘‘Everyone has their own nostalgia,” said Wides, a White Oak resident and recent graduate of James Hubert Blake High School. ‘‘I want people to find the beauty in remembering something.”

Last week, Wides was hanging and unpacking more than 30 of her memories in the art school’s Gudelsky Gallery in Silver Spring. Through trial and error and the help of Mike Anthony, the school’s gallery director, Wides was determining the best way for a viewer to walk through the gallery, which features sculptures, drawings and collages of various size and shapes.

On the opposite wall of the entrance was a small self-portrait — of Wides’ back. The drawing was in black and white, except for a red column down the middle of her back that outlined an anatomically correct spine.

The piece is a favorite of Alexandra Michaels, who taught Wides for four years at Blake. The self-portrait shows both the creativity and personal nature of Wides’ work, Michaels said.

‘‘She pours her soul into everything,” Michaels said. ‘‘It’s the kind of artwork that makes you stop and look for a long time.”

Wides has always been fascinated by the human body and took an anatomy class this year in school. A 2-inch-wide heart and a life-size hand with a circulatory system are part of her exhibit.

There’s also ‘‘Dr. Fischer’s Mistake,” a large wooden board with gauze covered in plaster and red splotches. While ‘‘Dr. Fischer” is made-up, the theme of operating table accidents represents the body’s delicateness, one of its most appealing qualities to Wides.

‘‘It’s one of the most beautiful things in the world,” she said. ‘‘It’s something so strange to see but something we all have.”

‘‘Dr. Fischer’s Mistake” normally sits in the kitchen windowsill of Wides’ home, her mother, Gail Wides said.

‘‘I know some of her art may be disturbing to people, but to me art is supposed to challenge you, and I think that’s what Hannah wants,” she said.

Hannah always carried a pencil and sketchpad when she was younger, her mother said, and learned and found inspiration from the world around her, including an aunt who is a professional photographer and an uncle who is an art professor.

‘‘She’s such a sponge,” Gail Wides said. ‘‘She’s a very deep kid for her age.”

When Hannah became interested in Japanese culture, for example, she joined a local Japanese dance troupe and eventually visited Japan. Now, she speaks functional Japanese and uses Japanese elements in her art, from folklore to mountains and moonlight in landscapes to woodcut paintings.

Wides prefers not to pick a favorite piece (‘‘I think artists should be humble”) but can easily describe how each is a reflection of herself. That ability won her the Alicia Betancourt Prize for Excellence in the Arts in May, a $4,000 scholarship given to a graduating female student from Blake with an interest in the arts.

It also won over the five-person jury of art professionals that handed out the Haimovicz award, now in its 10th year, which goes to a county high school senior pursuing a visual arts career and includes a $3,000 cash prize.

The award is given based on the quality of artwork and an applicant’s artistic potential, said Fran Abrams, director of grants at the Arts and Humanities Council. Fifteen students applied for the award this year, Abrams said, and the jury reviews entries without knowing the applicants’ identities.

The jury thought Wides’ work went ‘‘way beyond the work of a student’s assignment,” Abrams said. ‘‘It’s a marriage of vision and technical skills.”

Once the judges chose Wides, Abrams said they were pleased to learn she will be attending The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City this fall, which admits undergraduates only on merit and awards full scholarships to all enrolled students.

‘‘It confirmed their feeling that the work that was created was high quality,” Abrams said.

Wides plans to study sculpture in college and learn a little illustration on her own. While she is attuned to her memories, the only thing she knows about her future is it will include art in some way.

‘‘It’s the only thing I know how to do,” she said.

If you go

Hannah Wides’ art will be on display 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday until July 8 at the Gudelsky Gallery at the School of Art and Design of Montgomery College, 10500 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring. Admission is free. For more information, call the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County at 301-565-3805.