Isabella Lo

“Art is freeing. It lets me be creative. It lets me escape from the hustle and bustle of the day of, whether that just be academics or whatnot. In a way, art is one of my academics. I do it in school. I have grades and everything, but it doesn’t feel like a class because I enjoy it so much, and I put a lot of time and effort into it,” Kate Russell (12) said.

Kate Russell (12) runs her fingers over the soft clay as it spins on the pottery wheel. The swirling yellow and purple colors of the stained clay mix together, marbling across the clay in an intricate pattern. Each carefully selected color melds together and streaks the surface of the pot to create a cohesive and calming effect. Making art in the midst of a busy and intense school day provides Kate with a break.

“Art is freeing,” Kate said. “It lets me be creative. It lets me escape from the hustle and bustle of the day of whether that just be academics or whatnot. In a way, art is one of my academics. I do it in school. I have grades and everything but it doesn’t feel like a class because I enjoy it so much, and I put a lot of time and effort into it.”

Though the pottery wheel offers a form of ceramics that heavily emphasizes the perfect rounded shape, Kate also loves to explore symmetry in highly geometric shapes with angular edges, an unconventional use of clay. For example, with the shape of a dodecahedron, Kate cuts out the net of the shape from a flat piece of clay, folding it together.

“It’s like building something out of nothing,” Kate said. “I like the movable ability of the clay, how you can shape it to be however you want it, you can really push the limits. Also, if a piece breaks, you can start over again, and you can constantly reuse the clay.”

Kate also loves the comfort of and creativity behind crocheting and sewing, as the repetitive motions help Kate relax. Her grandmother first introduced her to crocheting when she was younger, and last summer, they worked on a Renaissance faire corset together. For Kate, art provides valuable time to bond with both friends and family.

“My family encourages me a lot, and the creativity that goes to just different types of art, whether that be ceramics, cooking, or crocheting,” Kate said. “They’ve inspired me a lot to do a lot of different activities. I see them doing [art], and I think ‘Oh, that’s really cool. I want to learn how to do that.’”

In the classroom, visual Arts teacher Brian Caponi, who has taught Kate for much of her high school, respects her willingness to experiment and try new things. In class, he admires her work ethic and determination in finishing projects.

“Kate adds a lot of energy,” Caponi said. “Her work ethic and the amount of work that she’s bringing in outside of school helps to raise the bar in terms of motivating other students to really go after it. That’s been a huge contribution.”

Beyond the classroom, when spending time with friends, Kate is a source of laughter and joy as her friends joke about her tendencies to mishear words. Close friend Emily McCartney (12), who met Kate in lower school, often loves to talk with her at the lunch table and to wander around the mall. 

“Kate’s a very chill person to be around,” Emily said. “She’ll listen to you, so you feel like she’s very, very trustworthy. You can tell her something and she won’t tell anybody. She helps you when you have some problem, and you want to tell her. She’s like the person that I’ll tell.”

Caponi also observes these traits of listening and encouraging others in the classroom. In her work last year, Caponi saw how Kate often expressed herself through the artwork she made.

“In conversations about her work with other students, being vulnerable and being willing to discuss difficult things for her or things that she’s overcome helps open up that conversation for all of us.” Caponi said. “To get to the place where we talk about very personal things, there needs to be that willingness. There needs to be someone in the room who’s going there.”

Close friend Christina Rex (12) met Kate in her sophomore year. Christina reminisced about the frantic moments during matriculation as a new student where she did not know anyone. At that time, Kate invited Christina to sit down on the grass together.

“Kate is incredibly reliable — probably the most reliable person I know,” Christina said. “She has such an even temperament. There’s some people that you don’t know which version of them you’re going to get on the phone — if they’re in a good mood or not. But she’s really even. No matter what mood she’s in, she always treats everybody with the same amount of respect and dignity.”

While Kate typically pursues large 3-D art like ceramics or glass work, Christina shared how to make alpha bracelets, a type of friendship bracelets, with her. Kate found bracelet making as another challenge to tackle, quickly learning and mastering the processes. This type of art became her way to share and give others handmade gifts.

“I like crocheting and bracelet making, but sometimes I don’t want to keep it and it’s like, ‘oh, I have this yarn. I can make something for someone else so they can enjoy it,’” Kate said. “It shows the time and energy I put into it, and it’s something that they can use and enjoy.”