Senior Maya Scott announced that she is looking to attend art school to pursue her passion for visual arts after graduation. Scott was accepted into the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and was offered a scholarship worth 84,000 $.
Scott said that she has known that art would play a role in her life, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to make it a career at first. “I think I’ve always kind of been focused on art,” Scott said. “Although I was pretty unsure about post secondary, my mom my whole life has been like, ‘You’ve gotta go.’ It seemed really fun and kind of a way to turn the art stuff into more of a career.”
Scott believes that her interest in art started at home. “ My father is an artist,” Scott said. “ He used to do custom instrument building and stuff like that. When I was younger he’d help him string guitars and do fretboards. That was pretty inspiring.”
Her older sibling also played a part in sparking her interest in art. “They always did digital art and showed me how to draw little creatures,” Scott said. “ That was really fun.”
Now, as she is looking ahead towards life after high school, Scott said she is planning to attend an art school that will help her grow her skills and make industry connections. “I would like to go to Savannah College of Art and Design,” Scott said. “ That’s one of the ones my mom told me to check out. She used to teach and live in Georgia, and she said it seemed really cool. I visited over the summer, and it was just really cool and very different from Colorado. It’s humid and near the beach, and I just want to switch it up a whole bunch.”
While she has not made a final decision, Scott said that she hopes to study fine arts and explore possible careers in it. “I’d like to do something fine arts related,” she said. “ I could see myself going into either art teaching or museum work – that would be pretty cool.”
Scott believes that one of the things that she loves most about art is how it allows people to express themselves. “I think it’s kind of like a human thing to try to create stuff or get your thoughts out,” Scott said. “Even if people aren’t artists, they’re still kind of projecting themselves.”
At MSHS, Scott’s teachers have watched her grow as both a student and an artist. Art teacher Paul Bonner says that Scott’s passion and perseverance have helped her succeed as an artist. “I am extremely excited for her,” Bonner said. “ I know she’s been wanting to go to art school for a long time, and I’m really proud of her for achieving that milestone.”
Bonner believes that one of her greatest strengths is her determination. “She really kind of strives on perfection,” Bonner said. “ I’ve seen her do three times the amount of other students when she didn’t think something looked right in her head. She would restart it numerous times until she got it right.”
Another art teacher, Erin Gochinski, feels that she’s also seen Scott’s hard work pay off. “She’s worked really, really hard academically and then also to improve her art,” Gochinski said. “She’s at a point where she’s developing a higher level of mastery where she can paint things to look lifelike.”
Gochinski believes that as Scott’s skills have grown, she has encouraged Scott to explore new creative directions. “Now I’m trying to get her to do some weird stuff,” Gochinski said, “to go crazy and make things unique and push that creativity bubble a little more.”
Through the year Scott has been working to expand her artistic range. “I used to kind of really be like, just drawing people in my sketch book with the same pose, same face,” Scott said. “I’ve really tried to branch out in my subject matter and materials.”
Gochinski feels that Scott’s art stands out because of the positive emotion that it conveys. “She brings a lot of joy to her pieces,” Gochinski said. “She’s able to convey a sense of whimsy and magic in her art that makes it feel really good to look at.”
Bonner said that he is excited to see how Scott’s talents continue to develop after high school. “I can’t wait to see what she does in the future,” Bonner said. “I know she’s going to be super successful, and I hope she keeps in touch with all of us little people here at Manitou.”
As Scott continues her senior year, she believes she’s ready for what comes next. “I’m super excited,” Scott said. “ It’s just really cool to think about starting something new and seeing where it goes.”
