Exceptional Freshman Finds Inspiration in Art

Emily Hu, Irina Li

For freshman Rachel Jiang, art was an aspiration that ran in the family.

“My mom never had the opportunity to learn art,” Jiang said. “Because of that, my mom has encouraged me to draw, so she sent me to art classes at a young age.”

Jiang rst started drawing at the age of ve. Since then, art has become a passion, rather than something her mother has pushed her to pursue.

“In the beginning, it was more my parents encouraging me and I was experimenting with art supplies,” she said. “But as I am getting more advanced in skill, there’s a lot more thought and enjoyment because I understand more of what I’m doing.”

A er almost a decade of dedication to art, Jiang says that now it’s more than just a hobby or pastime. She says being an artist gives her a sense of accomplishment and provides her with an invaluable form of self-expression.

“I’m not a very expressive person through talking, so art is a way to express my feelings without explicitly saying them,” said Jiang. “Putting my emotions on paper helps relieve my stress.”

Jiang has used various art mediums, including oil paint and graphite pencils. Recently, she has been experimenting with Prismacolor colored pencils and chalk. In the future, she hopes to try watercolor, which she does not have much experience working with.

She currently attends art class outside of Greenhill with her teacher, Minyi Kong, who introduced her to oil painting. She also took weekly classes at Ermitage Art Academy with Mikhail Dimov.

“Balancing art classes with everything else wasn’t too di cult in the rst semester,” Jiang said. “However, a er starting so ball in February, I haven’t been attending Ermitage Art Academy.” ough this is Jiang’s rst year at Greenhill, she says that her Drawing II class has helped her grow and improve as an artist.

“ ere’s a lot of encouragement toward creativity,” said Jiang. e advanced art classes at Greenhill are prompt-based, said Upper School Visual Arts teacher Lesley Rucker. For each assignment, students interpret a phrase or word before deciding on the type of paper and mediums many of the skills wasn’t necessary.”

Jiang’s artistry was recently recognized in the 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Her piece titled “Balance” won a National Gold Medal, the highest award.

“Balance”, Jiang said, was heavily inspired by “Alice in Wonderland.” It depicts an hourglass and teapot balancing on a wooden table. Other ornaments such as sh, water, a metal mirror, and teacups dangle in the air to showcase Jiang’s love for detail.

“ ere’s a kind

Despite having to balance art with a myriad of other activities, including schoolwork and ute training, Jiang has taken on long-term projects to make enough time for a carefully curated nal product. She says that most of her pieces take at least a couple of months to complete. One of her more detailed oil paintings required about six months of work. However, Jiang says she nds enjoyment in the lengthy process of making artwork.

“Drawing is a time-consuming undertaking,” Jiang said. “Whenever I draw, I get really focused and sort of lose myself in the process. In the blink of an eye, an hour or two has already passed.”

As a student in Drawing I, freshman Caitri Zeikus says that occasionally she gets to see Jiang’s work during class because the Drawing II class is next door.

“Her work is very elegant,” Zeikus said. “I hope to achieve her level of artistry.”

LaGrone says that Jiang is not only talented but also extremely modest about her artwork.

“Rachel is very humble about what she does and is very down to earth about her art,” LaGrone said. “She’s really hardworking. I admire that about her.” use. e goal for Drawing 2 is for students to start to be able to nd their artistic voice,” said Rucker. “Having exibility and experimentation that provide opportunities to expand what they’re doing is important.”

Most students do not have the opportunity to skip past beginning courses such as Drawing I, especially as freshmen. Jiang was able to do so a er sending in some of her past work to Rucker during the summer.

“I don’t always do that, but in her case, she’s just so amazingly and naturally talented,” said Rucker. “To put her into a beginning course when she already has so her style,” said freshman Chloe LaGrone, a friend of Jiang’s. “Everything stands out, and nothing is stando sh or appears bleak.”

For this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing awards, Jiang submitted three pieces: “Masquerade,” “Colorful Abstract” and “Sisters.” All three have received recognition. “Masquerade” received a Regional Silver Key while “Colorful Abstract” and “Sisters” won Regional Gold Keys. Both Gold Key pieces are under current consideration for national honors.

Jiang says she hopes that in the next few years, she can improve her own skills both technically and creatively.

“Eventually, I hope to incorporate these skills into my job or just have the time and motivation to draw for fun,” Jiang said.

Rucker has high hopes for the rest of Jiang’s high school art career. Future experimentation with di erent mediums and taking as many visual arts classes as possible will only strengthen Jiang’s nal portfolio, Rucker said.

“I have had other students that have that talent, but it doesn’t happen very o en,” Rucker said. “Especially as a freshman, she’s an exceptional artist.”