Sunset Middle School Arts Student of the Week Julianna Deems

Julianna Deems was nominated by her art teacher, Jennifer Tjornehoj, as the Sunset Middle School Arts Student of the Week. Deems is in the sixth grade and recently won the Blue Ribbon Award, a prestigious award based on handpicked artwork by the principal of the middle school.

Deems loves painting, oil pastels, and creating sculptures in and outside of her classes at Sunset. She also participates in the school's orchestra program. Deems said that she has a strong connection with art. "When I do other things, there's sometimes a lot of pressure and when I paint or sculpt or something, it just feels like I can do whatever I want," she said.

Her Blue Ribbon Award-winning sculpture was a large bird fashioned after the Mockingjay from Hunger Games. She created it by reusing old books and paper mache. Deems cut the paper and used paper mache to add more volume to the piece to differentiate the sculpture from the book beneath it.

Her piece was also entered into the sculpture display at the Niwot High School Art Show last week, the results of which are yet to be announced.

"I'd like to continue art and playing my music, and art in high school," Deems said. "I've liked art ever since I started coloring pages with my mom when I was little. My mom's a really good artist so I take after her. We took a couple of art classes together, like canvas painting and oil pastels. This is the first time I've worked in 3D."

According to her, she really enjoyed paper machéing this project, particularly because the words on the sculpture were still readable. She is currently working on another sculpture, a human figure that she is sculpting inside of a shadowbox.

Tjornehoj said, "Julianna is an admirable creative risk taker and takes such ownership over her work. Every art project that she takes on becomes an opportunity for her to express something about herself and learn or showcase a new skill."