CHELSEA BROWN
Age: 14.
Grade: Freshman.
School: Thunder Mountain High School
Art of choice: Drawing.
Experience: "Last year, when I moved to Juneau, I was in an art class at Floyd Dryden and I really enjoyed it. We made little pots in ceramics, made silk scarves and did some drawing too, which was really hard, but fun at the same time." Chelsea is now in Fine Arts class at Thunder Mountain.
Self criticism: "I am really social, so it's hard for me to focus, but I'm getting better at focusing during drawing. ... Drawing is uncomfortable to me right now, I'm very self-conscious about it. But I already feel so much more comfortable, I can look at my drawings and make changes, and just laugh with my friend, Kayla, about it."
Future plans: "I would like to be able to just look at something and draw it. I also would like to be able to draw "anime." I want to do really good drawings of rooms and a self-portrait. After this class I will probably keep drawing on my own. I want to be a clothes designer, so I want to be able to just have an idea of cute clothes and be able to draw my ideas.
"I'm excited when I notice that I drew something good. A drawing is kind of like a dance move, when you perform it for your friends you don't know what it's going to come out like, and it feels good when they look at my drawing and say, 'That's really tight!'"
Her art teacher, Marianne Manning, says:
"Every single freshman at Thunder Mountain is taking Art for one quarter of the school year. We are focusing on drawing skills. Patti Bippus, the principal of Thunder Mountain, believes that students should come out of high school as well-rounded people. It is her goal that all students graduate being able to draw and read music. These freshman drawing classes are working toward that goal.
"Chelsea is a great example of a student that came into this class without much prior experience and is being given the opportunity to learn how to draw. To see her develop into an artist is what education is all about.
"Chelsea has a really positive attitude. Matisse says creativity takes courage, and Chelsea has the courage to try. In a quarter, because she follows the lessons, believes in her teacher and herself, she will be drawing a charcoal self-portrait, as well as having learned many other drawing techniques such as shading and perspective. Another great thing about Chelsea is that she is very encouraging to the people around her in class. It gives other kids the confidence to succeed."
• Student Artist in the Spotlight is a weekly feature on the Neighbors page and done in collaboration with the Juneau School District Elementary Art Program. To have your student art included, contact your school office.