After seeing Amelie May’s prodigious artwork at Visions: Templestowe College Art & Design Exhibition, Zart Education Manager Nic Plowman asked the Studio Arts’ student some questions about her practice. Amelie penned this fantastic response.

”I struggle with being both human and an artist.” – Christopher Poindexter

I do not think that art is innate in some and not in others. I simply believe that we are all born with the desire to create beauty, however, I merely think that some, whether they choose it or not, simply outgrow this. I was lucky. I did not. Or maybe I did and forced it back into myself because, as I learnt early on, I cannot survive without it.

Art is what defines me. It is who I am. I am the permanently cracked clay-makers hands, the constant streak or wisp of paint across a cheekbone, the annoyance of a mother when her child has fallen asleep with a fine liner in their hand, cap off, and it’s bled down through and onto the mattress. Yes that’s happened. And if I am not an artist how are you to explain all the late nights I’ve spent as a hurricane inside the confines of skin, awake as a result of a brain that is sick with thoughts of what I need to show the world; what I need to create for myself.

Because I do need art. I need art as a means of self-expression. My Mama would describe me as an anxious child; however, I would describe my younger self as someone who painstakingly strived for meaningful recognition. And, although I was shy, I was always jealous of how easily people could create ‘art’ and the attention that they received as a result of this.

For me now, art isn’t about the want to be appreciated, but is merely my only true form of communication. And, like a disease, it has spread from my brain to my hands, to my mouth, to my thoughts, into every action I commit, altruistic or not. I am all consumed by it. It is my job, I believe, on this earth, this corrupted pile of dirt, to provide beauty for those who struggle to find it themselves. And I cannot be more content.

Amelie May
Year 11 Studio Arts
Templestowe College