Drawing, painting, sculpting, designing—for Cassidy Woolums ’24, there are no limits to her work, as she masters and blends mediums with little regard for convention. Finally in her senior year, her hard work is paying off. With two Gold Keys, one Silver Key and two Honorable Mentions in the Scholastic Art Awards, Woolums practically swept the regional competition.
Inspiration is never too difficult for Woolums who, like a modern-day Picasso, said she finds it virtually everywhere she goes.
“I was driving downtown one time and I saw the newspaper boxes,” Woolums said. “Obviously, nobody uses them anymore, but they were just sitting there. They looked oddly aesthetic, just sitting like that, (so) I took a picture and I lost the picture and then I found it months later and I was like ‘I’m gonna do something with it,’ and I just went from there.”
Even her process differs from that of other artists; Woolums said she leans into the uniqueness of her approach, and in the process, is able to create pieces that no one else can.
“Sometimes I’ll see something that I find really interesting and I’ll just get an idea for it,” Woolums said. “Most people start with a sketch. I kind of visualize the whole thing, the finished piece, and then I just make it.”
For her teachers, Woolums is the ideal art student. Free-thinking and hard working, Woolums has been able to do anything she’s put her mind to, and according to art teacher Thomas Szmrecsanyi, the process of guiding Woolums through her various artistic endeavors has been a rewarding one.
“In Cassidy’s case, we’ve known for a long time that she’s a very productive student (who) does some very nice work,” Szmrecsanyi said. “So when someone like her is entering (into the Scholastic Awards) their senior year, we’d like them to enter that year with that in mind. (We want them to) think about the pieces they are making as entries that they might submit to the show.”
According to Szmrecsanyi, Woolums’ results aren’t the product of just a mere spark for creativity or merely the work of a special talent that Wollums happened to discover within herself, but rather, the result of her willingness to work until her visions became reality.
“(Cassidy has) a pretty broad spectrum of interests and is a good student in general,” Szmrecsanyi said. “So I think that anyone else looking at her and thinking, ‘Can I do that? Can I be this successful in areas of my interest?’ It largely comes down to having a work ethic, being engaged and interested in what you’re doing, and putting in the extra time.”
For Mari Mueller ’24, who has known Woolums since middle school and has worked alongside her in the classroom since Sophomore year, Woolums’ willingness to experiment and undying determination are something of an inspiration.
“I admire her vision and her persistence with her vision and that she doesn’t give up when she has an idea and she keeps going with it and tries new things,” Mueller said.
As a classmate and a friend, Mueller said she respects not only Woolums’ art but her style and approach in general.
“She’s great—she’s amazing, she puts thought into everything she does,” Mueller said.
