Archive for Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Drawing lesson: October ArtStar blossoms after intensive study in pastels
Ally Koppes, a Lawrence High School senior, paints and draws in Wendy Vertacnik’s art class. Koppes is the October ArtStar, an honor co-sponsored by Jayhawk Dental and The World Company.
October 27, 2009
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Art Star Ally Koppes works on a painting in Wendy Vertacnik’s class at Lawrence High School.
Work by Ally Koppes
Work by Ally Koppes
ART STAR
The ArtStar award, sponsored by Jayhawk Dental and The World Company, is given monthly to a senior at a high school in Lawrence who excels in the fine arts.
Nine winners will be selected throughout the school year, with an overall winner selected at the end of the year. That overall winner also will receive a scholarship.
Nominations must be made by art teachers. To nominate a student, call Terry Rombeck, Journal-World features and special sections editor, at 832-7145 or e-mail him at trombeck@ljworld.com.
Ally Koppes has loved drawing for years, but she wasn’t ready to spend all day, every day doing it.
That was the Lawrence High School senior’s experience this summer as she traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the two-week Marie Walsh Sharpe Summer Seminar program. She received a scholarship to study with art instructors and hone her craft.
“It was hard at first to get into spending six hours a day drawing,” she admits. “But it was a lot of fun.”
Koppes is the ArtStar for October. The award is sponsored by Jayhawk Dental and The World Company.
Wendy Vertacnik, Koppes’ art teacher at LHS, says the young artist came back from Colorado with a new confidence.
“That’s a nice thing about her: She’s not real boastful, but she’s amazing,” Vertacnik says. “And I think she came back with a lot more confidence and really looking forward to going to an art school.”
Koppes found her love for drawing in junior high. She has worked mainly in pastels in the past, but she’s starting to expand to painting now.
“I try a lot of different stuff, but I ... like texture, lots of lines, that sort of thing,” she says in describing her style.
Her favorite piece to date is a pastel drawing she completed last year of a stone house near her school. It won first place in pastels in the “Kansans ... As Talented As You Think” competition organized by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas.
“I spent a lot of time on the house,” she says. “I really like the stone on it, and I wanted to try to draw that. It’s hard to experiment until you find the right way to get it to look like what you want it to look like.”
That was the first piece Koppes did that caught Vertacnik’s attention.
“She had completely turned it into all the shadow, the light areas, the color was really outstanding,” Vertacnik says. “And so you kind of take notice when a student does that, and she continued to really be able to nail drawings.”
Koppes is spending this year honing her art skills while also delving into a new realm: drafting. She’s hoping to combine her art skills with architecture to someday do interior design.
“I definitely want to bring both of those things together in a career someday,” she says.
Koppes is considering architecture or art programs at Kansas University or Kansas State University. Art schools might also be a possibility.
Vertacnik thinks Koppes would be perfectly suited to adapt her art skills to the world of building design.
“I think that would be great,” she says. “To me, that would be really exciting for her. I could see her really excelling at that.”
More like this
- Artistic transition: LHS senior hoping to turn art hobby into career 4 comments / December 30, 2008
- Ally Koppes has loved drawing for years, but she wasn’t ready to spend all day, every day doing it. October 30, 2009
- Character builder: LHS senior hones skills in art, acting 3 comments / February 24, 2009
- Stage name: Free State senior’s theater talents qualify her as May ArtStar 1 comment / May 26, 2009
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27 October 2009
at 4:53 p.m.
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BABBOY (Anonymous) says…
Cool story.
27 October 2009
at 5:29 p.m.
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Seamus (Anonymous) says…
Yeah, well, but what sports does she play?
27 October 2009
at 5:42 p.m.
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trombeck (Terry Rombeck) says…
Seamus — She's actually on the cross country team. Thanks for asking.
Terry Rombeck
Features/special sections editor
27 October 2009
at 5:45 p.m.
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Seamus (Anonymous) says…
Thanks, Terry. Because that is what's really important.
27 October 2009
at 6 p.m.
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JackRipper (Anonymous) says…
Seamus obviously she is only able to do arts because she isn't in a team sport. Just imagine how far she could have gone if she had played a team sports.
Ok, with that said, what nice work.
27 October 2009
at 6:12 p.m.
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numberldy (Anonymous) says…
FYI….she runs Cross Country and Track, is a member of the NHS and NAHS and volunteers her time for many activities in Lawrence. She is a well rounded student!
27 October 2009
at 8:09 p.m.
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merg311 (Anonymous) says…
She is also very attractive :)
27 October 2009
at 8:37 p.m.
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Marshalus (Michael Stanclift) says…
Amazing how in a nice feature about a talented high school artist, the trolls still manage to come out and rain on the parade.
27 October 2009
at 9:11 p.m.
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JackRipper (Anonymous) says…
And of course you aren't a troll because you are special.
27 October 2009
at 9:13 p.m.
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artichokeheart (Anonymous) says…
Good catch Terry Rombeck.
27 October 2009
at 11:56 p.m.
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Quigly (Anonymous) says…
Don't quit your dayjob
28 October 2009
at 3:53 a.m.
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redmoonrising (Anonymous) says…
Good story about a talented, well rounded member our of community.