Jacob Summers

Summers always went to art camp growing and enjoyed sketching and printmaking. In high school, he started in first year ceramics where he bagen to develope a unique style.

Now in AP Studio Art as well as advanced ceramics, he likes to  make pieces that deal with identity.

“I’m really drawn to how we, early men, chose to identify ourselves, as opposed to today, and the contrast between the two,” he says. His art incorporates tribal aspects with elements that portray the American Dream in a thought-provoking way.

He says his dream school next year would be Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore but he also would like to study earth sciences. If art weren’t his career, he says, “I’d love to study birds in Brazil.”

Madeline Abrams

From a young age Junior Madeline Abrams has always loved drawing, knitting, sewing, and working with mixed mediums. Growing up in Corvallis, Abrams attended the local Waldorf School, an alternative branch of schools that incorporates imagination and art into every aspect of learning.  As a result, “thinking artistically has always come naturally to me,” she says.

When she was in 6th grade, Abrams’ family moved to Portland where she attended Cedarwood Waldorf School up until her freshman year at Grant. She describes public high school as a “shocking transition,” she was accustomed to the artistic expectations of Waldorf school.

The detail that Abrams puts into her art has also given her a natural affinity for math and science. Last summer she worked for the Department of Agriculture testing strawberries in a lab with students in Graduate school. She wants to pursue a career in some field of science while continuing with art.

“It’s my break from everything. It’s time when I don’t have to think but I can still create,” she says.

Abram’s creates vivid, detailed, mixed-medium pieces inspired from her own life. “When I need a project idea,” she says, “I think a lot about my childhood–it gives me magical, fairytale adventures to pull from.”

Next year Abrams plans to take challenging math and science courses along with AP Studio Art. She says, “I can’t imagine not doing art.”

Isaly Murrell

Senior Isaly Murrell can’t remember when she first fell in love with art. “I guess I’ve always been doing art,” she recalls.

She began to pursue art seriously when she attended Da Vinci Arts Middle School where she took art classes every year. When she entered Grant she steadily climbed her way through the ranks, starting in first year drawing, then Intermediate/Advanced Art and now she is in AP Studio Art for the second year in a row.

She says that AP art, “requires a lot more work,” but she likes that, “there are no deadlines–you just have to make your own pieces.”

Murrell makes two-dimensional, highly realistic drawings. Her latest project is a series of portraits based off photos of her mother and grandmother when they were younger. She says she likes capturing the faces of her friends and family through her drawings.

Rather than major in art, she says, “I’d rather have a good career and minor in art,” She wamts to study fashion-merchandising management next year at Oregon State University.