IAA has many great artists, Katie Lyons is just one example. Katie is a Senior at Camas High School and she joined IAA as a sophomore. Before she joined IAA, she got into the arts by “ …Doodling on the sides of my papers or singing with siblings” and IAA was an opportunity to do art in school. Having done a lot of art, “…a ceramic sculpture….in the middle of the living room” is the art piece she is most proud of.

There are a lot of art forms, Katie says that “traditional with Copic markers and paints” are her favorite art forms. She participates in singing, acting, dancing, and pretty much every form of visual art, everything from painting to pencils, markers, paper mache, and ceramics. Since joining IAA she has noticed “a dramatic grade increase from freshman year to sophomore year.” Having the time to do art really helped her with having good grades. IAA was also the place where she made some of her best friends. The best part about art for her is “the creative freedom it gives [her].” Art lets her express what she wants in the way that she wants. In her personal opinion, she thinks if she was an art form she would be ceramics “because I take a long time and a lot of work but I end up really cool.”

While Katie views herself as ceramics, Mrs. Ruhiyyih Wittwer views her as “a poem.” Katie is a very artistic person, she likes to do a lot of art and having a creative outlet helped her with more than just grades. She has grown more confident and made more friendships that will last forever. Ruhiyyih Wittwer has had Katie in one of her classes and says that Katie excels the most in “literary art, fabric art, and sculpting.” All the arts have different techniques, and knowing so many art forms gives you a taste of some of the different techniques. One thing that artists do is take risks with their art to know what they can and can’t do. Taking those risks helps to learn and improve on aspects of that art form. This is what Katie has done, she has done so many art forms and learned what techniques to use for all of them to create beautiful pieces of art.