Art Student of the Week: Edward Amsbaugh

One of the first jewelry pieces Edward Amsbaugh had accepted in an art exhibit was the first piece he ever created.

"It was a deer head," Amsbaugh said, "that I cut from a 2 x 2 piece of metal. By hand. From an old, distant memory of my childhood friend Ian. Because he had deer heads on his walls. And I took from that memory, and I tried to make something that made me not only feel that sort of nostalgia, but also bring something new to people looking at a new piece of artwork."

Since then, Amsbaugh has had other work accepted for exhibition. A freshman at Niwot High School soon going into his sophomore year, he took two art classes in school his first year, 2D Design and Metals. Three of the pieces he created for class were selected for the annual art show. Two of them, pendants and necklaces, were created in the Metals class. He also had a self-portrait in the art show for 2D design.

In his early years Amsbaugh never felt himself to be a very creative person. But before he signed up for regular classes, his friends urged him to try something new. So Amsbaugh thought, "Why not?" and that eventually got him into art at NHS.

Throughout his life he has found inspiration from his family. His sister convinced him to try painting and his grandfather encouraged him to create practical things with his hands such as carving things out of wood or soap, and experimenting with metal.

The classes engaged Amsbaugh in creative experimentation. "When we first started doing it, it was pretty much like it was a very standard process. With a class, you just do this and this and this and this. Step-by-step. But eventually what I found was that the teacher allowed you to have a lot of freedom. And so it was up to the person. And what I eventually found was that by having a lot of that freedom, I was finally able to, not only make something that fit the assignment, but that I drove from different parts of my life."

Another side of Amsbaugh's creative nature comes out in music. He plays trumpet in the Jazz Band for NHS and has just earned his varsity letter. He particularly enjoys playing swing tunes and he hopes to have a chance to play in a big band.

His interest in music was also inspired by his family. He first started playing music when he inherited a cornet that belonged to his great-grandfather, who served in World War II and played the cornet as a soldier. "It was this over 100-year-old instrument that was eventually passed down to me," Amsbaugh said. "And I felt like it would be in a way to honor him, to play it." Amsbaugh also credits most of his musical ability to his middle school director, Dr. Karin Gregg, who taught him while he was a student at Lyons Middle/Senior High.

"Music is not only a perfect way to express one's own emotion," Amsbaugh says, "but it's also a way to tell a story. And I think the biggest thing about music is that, especially in jazz, what you try to understand is that when soloing you have a chance to show off your skills, and that's fine. But you also have a chance to have a one-on-one connection with the audience, as a whole. And to show them exactly what you are trying to play and what you're trying to show throughout your music. And I think one of the amazing things about jazz music is that, not only is it fresh and new and constantly relevant, but it's also always changing and always different and always experimental. Which always allows growth."

"When I look back at all my performances, I tend to see a very steady growth which, honestly, I can look on and smile on, which I feel is like a gift that I have, to be able to see that, and just to see my trajectory in a constant, upward motion."

He draws inspiration from many different types of music, and names Miles Davis and Gordon Goodwin as influences, but he believes that there is a lot that can be derived from all forms of music. He does not take inspiration from one person, but instead tries to listen to as much as he can, to "make something out of everything."

The trumpet player's approach to improv centers on his desire to understand what a song is trying to say. Next, he thinks about what he wants to say along with it. And that influences his approach to creating a solo.

"They say with improv you have a set of notes. You have a set of chords. And you try to make something out of it. And what I found was that it's like understanding what are the bones, but to truly make something beautiful, you have to add skin and hair, and all of the other necessities. And all of that, when it comes to improv, is all about what you're trying to show. The important thing about improv is that it's always going to be new and it's always going to be exciting. Because any good soloist is going to not only show you just what you're hearing, and is going to add addition to the song, but is also going to show you what they are feeling and how they are trying to express themselves."

Coming to NHS from Lyons, without any connections or friends on the first day, was exceedingly difficult, but what Amsbaugh found is that he easily made connections, not only in class with the other students, but also with the teachers that he has come to like and trust.

"I think that Niwot was definitely a really good place for me to not only find new people, and to find more of MY people, but also to just try to understand the world in a new perspective. Because growing up in this small town has definitely not provided me with all of the skills that come with a large school. But Niwot was very welcoming, and though, in my head, it seemed like a great wall that I had to climb, it truly was a path that I just got to walk on."

In addition to music and art, Amsbaugh is very interested in astronomy and builds model rockets. He is fascinated with the stars in the sky, and all the things that surround them. And he believes that part of his interest in music comes from that fascination with space, which, he says, allows him "to transcend into that sort of beyondness."

Future plans involve aerospace engineering. Though Amsbaugh does not plan to make a career out of his artistic talent, he does think that those skills are going to come in handy. He will continue to make jewelry, and will be taking the new intermediate class when he goes back to NHS next fall.

"I will continue to create," he said, "and I think that the skills those art classes have shown me, will maybe not be put together by painting a picture, but will probably be put together by maybe putting something in the sky."