By Mya Caldwell

I have really enjoyed art since I started here in sixth grade, so I thought it would be interesting to talk to some of my fellow students and find out what they like about art.

One of the students that I recently talked to was Emilie Berthiaume. Emilie really loves art, and she is very good at it. Emilie told me, “I originally got interested in art by attending art camp during the summer at the Tempe public library.” Her passion has really taken off quickly, and she truly loves to do anything art-related now.

Emilie has grown particularly fond of working with charcoal pencils. She said that she really doesn’t have any specific technique but instead experiments with many different techniques. Emilie feels she has developed her artistry through taking her time, and not rushing to finish her projects.

One excellent example of Emilie’s skill comes from a recent class assignment. According to her teacher, Mr. Chapin, “It was a project rooted in the conversations around the book A Wrinkle in Time, and the dueling natures of good vs. evil.”

I truly enjoyed talking to Emilie, and soon found another student here at TPJA that also enjoyed art, Abby Everding. Abby has a fascination with art and has taught herself through research.

One of Abby’s fascinations has been with machine art and Japanese art. She finds that she can really concentrate on her Japanese art by using pencils and markers, which allows her work to come alive. Abby told me, “I can really do good art work by starting with the basic shapes, using light colors first, and then using dark colors to finish my art.” Abby feels her success has been due to her focus, and if you like what you are doing, you can build on it step by step.

I finished up my interviews by talking to Grace Zwemke. Like Abby, Grace developed an interest in art and has taught herself. Grace told me, “I truly like all different types of art, but find that I enjoy abstract art the most.” Lately she has found that she likes to express her creativity through paintings. Even though Grace feels she doesn’t have a specific technique, she shows many different techniques in her work.

Grace advises other students who are interested in art that it is important to complete all your other homework first, and when you have spare time you can practice your art through drawings. She also recommends that once you have developed solid techniques with drawings you can advance to other types of projects.

I have Mr. Chapin as my art teacher this year. He is an excellent artist, and loves teaching all of us about the many different types of art. Discover your passion by becoming an artist today, and check out Mr. Chapin’s blog for the latest information and projects here at TPA/TPJA: tpacreatesart.blogspot.com