Meghan Pillote, senior, has been an artist for as long as she can remember. Her journey started from a young age: her parents encouraged her creativity, hoping she would continue expressing herself through this skill later in life. Pillote and her parents both believed that art was a way to express oneself and one’s emotions.
“Art was never something that was seen as a job,” Pillote said.
Pillote has always had a passion for art, However she never saw it as a career path until the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when art became a way to leave the outside world of chaos and lean into something that was just Pillote’s. The pandemic is when she first began to aspire to be an artist, and even started to think about pursuing art through college.
“I began to like art more and used it as an escape,” Pillote said.
Pillote sometimes uses pens to create her art. Using the stippling technique, a method of using dots to create a larger image, after learning about pointillism in art class.
Pillote uses a three-step process to transform her ideas into art.. First, She visualizes her idea in her mind and sketches it out on a page. Second, she keeps reworking in her sketchbook until she is comfortable with how it looks. Third, Pillote creates separate sketches of the same idea conveyed in completely different ways so she can get a broader pallet of ideas to use when she creates the final product. Pillote will then fine tune and compile all of her sketches and ideas into one to create the final product. She sometimes limits the number of her sketches since she is worried about overworking one idea.
“For the most part, I like to jump right into it,” Pillote said. “If I spend too much time trying to get the sketch right, I’m not going to go anywhere. I like using a pen to make those permanent decisions.”
Pillote focuses on conveying her own emotions in most of her personal pieces, whether it’s something persisting on her mind or a feeling she wants to put on paper.
“I think a lot of the pieces are centered around how I feel,” Pillote said. “It is motivating for me because it helps me understand my emotions better.”
She also is motivated by showcasing her variety and depth of artistic ability as higher education officers, like college admissions, come into the picture. Pillote plans on furthering her education at an art school and is excited to explore more artistic mediums, since she isn’t comfortable with certain ones. However, she has taken many art classes at CHS. Specifically, she loves ceramics and painting ones.
After completing a higher education, Pillote hopes to be in the advertising field. But even if that doesn’t become a reality, Pillote knows that she will always want to create art. She never wants to let go of the fact that art is an escape for her. Pillote believes art will always bring her a sense of calmness and relief, transporting her into her own world whenever she sits down with a pen in her hand.
Pillote is very excited about exploring new art forms in college and exploring what it is she really wants to do. She looks forward to the ups and downs of the artistic lifestyle and is optimistic about her future.