This February, Violet Christiansen was recognized by the Sam Barlow Art Department for involvement. An active sophomore, Christiansen is in Painting 1, on the Speech and Debate team and girls’ tennis team, and an active member in the National Art Honor Society. Her qualities stood out among hundreds of others and continue to inspire the Barlow community.
“I was asked if there was a student I would like to recognize, and she came to mind,” Ms. Gibson, the art teacher at Sam Barlow, shared. “There have been a variety of reasons for my choices throughout the year, sometimes a student’s dedication to making art, sometimes their impressive diversity of mediums within art, and I like Violet for not only being an artist, but being so helpful in the art room.”
Helpfulness is a quality Christiansen goes back to. “I try to be generally helpful wherever I can. For people that I care about, I tend to try to be involved in their lives and do things for them that I can, when I can,” Christiansen says. “If you can do something, might as well do it, you know?”
Christiansen tries not just to be involved, but also compassionate and caring. Ms. Gibson recalls Christiansen’s intentional treatment of peers and supplies, and claims other students could learn, “how to support others, and how to take care of shared spaces and responsibility,” like Christiansen.
“If I finish a thing early, like last semester, when I would finish my sculpture project early, I would help clean off the table for everybody. I would help run the pug mill for Gib. I was basically like a part-time TA for Gib,” Christiansen says.
Ms. Gibson also reflects on Christiansen’s work ethic in the art room. “She’s usually the first student I see in the morning and one of the last I see in the afternoon. She asks if she can help or clean things, and overall has a great attitude.”
Christiansen’s positive attitude comes from the value she sees in involvement. “I think it’s really important to be involved in stuff because it helps you get a better sense of community,” Christiansen says.
Christiansen’s drive to be involved in art comes from early childhood. “I’ve always been interested in art,” Christiansen explains. “My grandma, when I was younger—and still now even—she was super artsy. I think she’s where I get all my artistic talent from. She would teach me how to watercolor and finger paint, and she’s super into crafts, so I would just be crafting all the time whenever I went over to her house. Even to this day, we’ll do art projects together whenever I’m over there.”
Now, Christiansen pursues art in Sam Barlow. She’s taken Intro to Art, Sculpture, Ceramics, and is currently taking Painting 1. “Next year, I hope to take Sculpture 2, Drawing 1, Painting 2, maybe Studio, but I’ll probably save that for my senior year,” she explains. She is also interested in taking art as a minor in college.
Christiansen urges others to be kind to others, especially teachers. “They’re willing to be here. Try and help when you can.”
Overall, Christiansen continues to positively represent Sam Barlow’s art department. “I hope she feels like an integral part of the art community,” Ms. Gibson reflects.
