By Kejsi Zyka, Opinions Editor
You may notice the petite girl with short brown hair and sweet personality in her own little world, doodling in her notebook pages as she sits quietly, ignoring the noise all around her. But what people may not notice about senior Stella Nettles is her talent for art, and the bright future she has ahead of her.
Nettles has loved drawing since she was a little girl. She knew it was going to be an activity that would later turn into more than just a hobby.
“I was probably 8 and I started finger painting in my elementary school art class,” Nettles said. “It was so much fun.”
Once Nettles started middle school, she knew she wanted to continue to excel at her craft, so she took all the regular art classes, then in high school she took Art I and II. She is currently taking Art III and will be going into AP Art next semester.
Nettles has found her art classes to be refreshing and fun instead of boring and unchallenging. Every artist has a theme to all of their pieces, a specific style that portrays their creativity. For Nettles, that niche has always been portraits.
“I definitely like drawing people, and I usually practice drawing celebrities because that’s easy for me,” Nettles said. “I use the graphite pencils, I paint the background, I get really focused and it takes just a day.”
As for her upcoming work, Nettles wants to keep it a secret. Christmas is coming up and she’s not planning on ruining any surprises.
“Let’s just say it involves clay,” Nettles said.
A recent accomplishment for Nettles has been her drawing, “Cruel Nature,” which was featured in the Outer Banks Milepost. The goal was to carve out a certain image from a social issue. Nettles was drawn to offshore drilling.
“That’s a big problem down here,” Nettles said. “People who don’t really live here mess up our beach, and it means a lot less to them then it means to us.”
One of Nettles’ biggest role models has been her mother, Holly Nettles, who is a self-employed artist. Art has always been a part of both of their lives, and Nettles aspires to have a similar career.
“Walking in her footsteps is a nice comfort in life and I want to follow a similar path,” Stella said.
Holly is proud of how far her daughter has come, and knows she has so much more to offer.
“Folks that don’t know her may think she’s quiet, but she has plenty to say, and I love seeing it come out in her art,” Holly said. “When she has the opportunity to study different mediums, techniques and disciplines, I think it will light a fire within her and allow her to continue to express herself.”
Holly thinks that Stella has a lot of potential, and knows she will continue to use her talent to do what she loves.
“She’s much better than I was at her age,” Holly said. “Her talent is pretty true and she’s willing to put in the work to get better.”
As for her future plans, Nettles knows she wants to go to a four-year college and receive a Bachelors of Fine Arts. But she still hasn’t made her decision on which school and what job.
East Carolina, UNC-Asheville and Warren Wilson are the top schools Nettles is considering because of their great art programs.
“Those are really good schools and I feel like they have a lot of culture around them that could help me with my art,” Nettles said.
Nettles is unsure of where her art will lead her and the kind of career she wants to pursue from it, but she’s sure of one thing – following her dreams, and staying calm and focused along the way.
“The key is patience and time,” Nettles said. “I definitely want to find a career that makes me happy.”
Senior Kejsi Zyka can be reached at zykake0914@daretolearn.org.
