Mixing media

Most artists are happy to be selling the work at any age, but few find themselves a senior in high school having sold about a dozen pieces before graduation.

Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School student Haley Felton is such an artist.

Felton also just got a scholarship to the University of Wyoming where she will pursue her passion. She noted that her great grandmother started the tradition of Felton women going to that university. Felton said she likes to learn about art in academic settings.

"I have always been interested in creating art, but once I came to HEM with its art classes and Mr. (Russ) Wiggam giving assignments once a week, I found myself doing work outside of class to compliment what I was learning," Felton said. 

Felton's talent is not only in what she produces on a sketch pad; she is also a musician that plays the base. She is hopeful to play in the University of Wyoming's jazz band, Her mother is HEM's music teacher, Kit Felton, so Felton plays several instruments, but base is her favorite.

Her art teacher since 7th grade has been impressed by what she has produced on her own, not only class assignments.

"Some of her phenomenal art has come from what she has done at home," Wiggam said. "Much more than assignments."

Felton has gotten support not only from Wiggam, but also her family.

"My parents encouraged me and I have to two aunts on my father's side that are artists and they helped me out," Felton said. "Then my Mom encouraged me to sell my work. At first I didn't want to, but it has helped me gain confidence."

Felton said she does a lot of portraits, but often likes to try a big piece.

Wiggam said her projects that she attempts on her own can be amazing.

"I have been very lucky with working with kids that are very creative," Wiggam said. "Even their topics that they decide to inspire them are creative. Haley is very much this type of student."

Felton admits creativity is what inspires her to go into the specialization of art at the university.

"I am getting into digital art," Felton said. "That is what I am planning to study in college. I want to be an animator and work on movies and video games. The animation in video games is getting so good you almost can't tell it is a video game, so I would like to work in this field of art."

Felton said anime is not the sort of art she aspires to learn, but she likes Japanese art in particular. 

"There are a lot of Japanese artists that I like that inspire me," Felton said.   

One thing that might surprise people is Felton's desire to get an tattoo artist apprenticeship.

"If I have a struggle to getting into video games and movie stuff, which is really competitive, I can be a tattoo artist," Felton said. "It is a skill that can take you anywhere."

Although Felton has been on sports teams at HEM, she is much more interested in snowboarding and skateboarding.

"Going to the University of Wyoming is great because they have the Snowy Range Ski area nearby," Felton said. "Snowboarding is really important to me and there is a large skateboarding community in Laramie which is another reason I wanted to go to University of Wyoming."

Felton said working at the Saratoga Resort this past summer brought out culinary skills she didn't know existed in her.

"I sort of want to look at culinary education too," Felton said. "It makes sense to me since imagination is big part of creating dishes."

Wiggam said he encourages students to take an assignment and create and expand on whatever it is.

This worked for Felton.

"The Medusa piece is an example of me getting really interested in something and doing a lot of work in that area. I got interested in statues and I started sketching a lot of different statues and this drawing eventually came out of all that work," Felton said. "I do a lot of things out of my mind, but like the Medusa, I sometimes have a reference. Then I make a lot of sketches and just keep working at it until I like what I have done. Practice is important."

Her art teacher can tell when she is getting confident with looking at her different sketches of the same subject.

"Haley did a sketch of Aphrodite and the first one was not large," Wiggam said. "Then her next one was larger and the one after larger. You can see the confidence with size of each picture."

Wiggim has enjoyed watching his student hone her abilities.

"At first she really focused on photographs of famous people," Wiggam said. "Then in freshman year, I told her she had great stuff, but that she needed to create things of her own and she has done that extremely well."

Felton's work has been acknowledged by Wyoming State Art Symposium by the Wyoming High School Activities Association. She won a blue ribbon for her portrait of a horse in 2019. The symposium was canceled in 2020 but it is hoped there will be one this year. 

"The state arts symposium is amazing," Wiggam said. "It is held at the Ford Center in Casper and the entire first floor is jammed with over 4,000 pieces of art from high school students in Wyoming. It almost overwhelming."

Wiggam said all the art teachers who go to the symposium are the judges and it is basically a juried show. 

"To receive a ribbon is pretty good," Wiggam said. "We usually only put in 10 to 12 pieces, so if we get a ribbon or two out of 4,000 pieces of work, that is pretty good when you think about it."

He said there is another jury made up of different art specialists that pick out different pieces and then judge them. From that selection, the winner is sent to Washington D.C. and put up display there. The first lady of Wyoming will also pick out some pieces and display them at the State Capitol building.

"Wyoming has the only statewide art show in the nation for high school," Wiggam said. "It is everybody, small school, big school, it doesn't matter. It is a display to show what high school art students can do."

He said it usually is on the last weekend of April and that there is only about a day and a half of viewing and then it taken down.

"It has been going on for a long time. I came here in 1986 and they were doing it before," Wiggam said. "It started out at the Douglas fairgrounds and it just bigger to where it is now in Casper."

Wiggam does worry that the state legislature this year could affect the arts. 

"They are talking about 50 percent cuts on activities which would affect everything from organizations, to art, music, to sports," Wiggam said. "I think it is important that parents know this. Kids need all these activities so that they can find a niche, no matter what it is."

Felton agrees with Wiggam that cutting arts programs along with other organized activities does more damage than any short term cost savings for the budget. It is unlikely that once cut, they would come back.

"The encouragement and education I have received from school concerning art cannot be understated," Felton said. "I would hate for kids coming up be denied activities that I think helped me grow as an artist and a student."