ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
More and more young people are finding themselves being drawn toward creative endeavors, and recently, one local young artist received a repeat recognition.
Recently, Liberal High School junior Kylee Amparan received her second consecutive honor from the Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition, which she said was exciting and surprising at the same time.
“I submit a lot of my class projects to competitions like the Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition, and last year, I won for my ceramic piece 'Sentinel Elegance,’ which I was really proud of,” Amparan said. “I've kept busy with other projects since then, and I won again this year for my glassblowing piece 'Twisting Leaves.' The funny thing about last year is I didn't think that piece would get any recognition and then I ended up winning for that, so it's amusing how that worked out. My teacher, Rose Hernandez, was the one who told me I'd won since she had gotten the email letting her know, and I was really happy. I was really happy and surprised about getting recognized again. Last year, I didn't really think too much about it and thought 'Let's just see how it goes,' and then I ended up winning, so this year, I took things a little more seriously and worked harder on the piece I'd submitted, but I was still really surprised when I won again because like last year, I was not expecting to get recognized like this. I was really shocked and happy about how everything turned out. I really enjoy working in all the details and seeing what's in my head or sketchbook come to life in a tangible way, even if there are some changes that need to be made along the way.”
Amparan said her interest in art was piqued at an early age.
“When I was younger, I loved art even then and I would draw all the time. It wasn't until I got to high school that I started working with ceramics and glassblowing, and I ended up really, really liking it,” Amparan said. “My school art, I would say that got started in middle school because I was in a 3D art class and we made a bunch of projects out of cardboard and other materials, so that kind of springboarded everything I'm working on now in terms of sculptures. Then when I got to high school, I was really, really happy there was an art class where I could continue putting together those types of art. I really like being involved in art because I can make anything I want and turn my drawings into 3D works of art. Seeing the end results of the pieces I'd put together was a really good feeling. Seeing that, especially with the glassblowing, really encouraged me to be more creative in terms of colors and patterns, and I really love seeing everything come together under my hands. With the ceramics side of things, I really like mixing the glazes and everything together and seeing how those turn out and how I can incorporate them into what I'm doing. I also really love the colors and detail that can be put forth. It's all just really amazing.”
Putting together a piece, Amparan said, is a pretty typical process.
“A lot of times, I start out by thinking about something I need at home, like maybe a keychain holder – right now, I'm working on a skull sculpture with spikes that will hold keys. Or maybe I need a small vase or something similar, it just depends,” Amparan said. “There are always a lot of ideas I have, and I'm always excited to create. After I get an idea, I sketch it out to see how it could come together, and then I look at it and start planning how to actually make everything and what colors I want and all of that. Then I start putting everything together and if there needs to be some changes made along the way, I adapt and figure out how to make it work. I really like everything, the main thing for me is being able to be creative. I love making these pieces and like I said earlier, seeing everything come together under my hands. I also enjoy making some stuff that's more realistic-looking, those pieces are also really fun to put together.”
And there are no plans for her to slow down with her art, Amparan said.
“I absolutely want to continue ceramics and glassblowing, I love them so much. I've even already bought some ceramics tools so I can make even more, so I definitely want to keep going,” Amparan said. “With the pieces I've already made, I would at some point like to sell them or give them away since I don't have very much space at home. I'd love to see if I can improve on my art even more and maybe do some gallery work, because there are some pieces I've seen from other artists that are just out of this world, and I'd love to see what I can do with my art.”
Overall, Amparan said, she is very pleased and humbled by her recent recognition.
“I'm happy and humbled to have my art recognized this way, it's not every artist who gets to say that, especially at my age. I also want to thank my teacher, I've learned a lot from her and I hope I can continue making her proud,” Amparan said.
