James Andrews grinned as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“Three more years!” he exclaimed. He was referring to FAB (Fine Arts Boosters) Featured Artist Arianna Hempel, a freshman, moving through his Kingston High School Art classes — Studio, Advanced, and AP.
This 14-year-old wowed me with her incredibly skilled and detailed pencil and digital drawings.
“I love the values and sketchy feel of pencil,” she said. “Ever since I could hold a pencil, I drew — on walls and books — animals mostly, and then in seventh grade I discovered human portraits.”
Arianna won her first art award at age 5.
Last spring, she was the winner in the middle school category at the Festival of the Arts. Self-taught, she now appreciates her first professional art teacher, who says she has a “raw talent, a strong work ethic and a bright future.”
Instrumental music inspires Arianna.
“Besides playing the flute, guitar and piano, I listen to recordings and the flow of my art reflects the emotion of the music,” she said. Her favorite genre is K-Pop.
K-Pop? I ask.
She replied: “Korean pop, like 2NE1. But, I love art more than music.”
Kingston has always been home for Arianna.
“It is safe here, with a small-town feel,” she said. “Although I love Seattle and want to travel, beyond Kingston seems scary.”
She lives with her mom, two younger sisters, and grandmother. Her grandmother came from Vietnam during the war and plans on taking Arianna there.
“Asian culture is important in my life,” she said. “I grew up around my Asian family.”
When I hesitated asking a 14-year-old about her future, she jumped in with: “I already know! Animated video game designer first, and then to Korea as an English teacher.
“I’ve been picking up the Korean language since sixth grade. I learn from movies and from a Korean friend.”
Arianna values the arts in our community.
“Society is changing a lot especially for our generation,” she said. “The arts bring a lot of hope into a person. If I didn’t know how to draw, I wouldn’t express my emotions. I wouldn’t be happy. Beyond the natural world most of the things we see are made by artists — architecture, cars, videos, landscape design, clothes, appliances. The community wouldn’t work without artists.”
As I left the crowded, creatively engaged students in the art room, the backs of two ninth-graders, sitting side-by-side, were bent over their latest project. In Arianna and Kindra Smith (FAB Featured Artist in November), there is such hope. Kindra is now a paid artist; her work was purchased by the Educational Service District 114 at the High School Art Show to hang in its permanent collection.
