“With every piece of artwork you create you are changing as a person. Whether it is the style, the way you think, and when people view it they are also changed. I think it’s so amazing that art can change someone forever. Art can change the world,” said senior Catey Minnis, an art student who wants to share her passion for art with others.

 Minnis’s interest in art took off in eighth grade when she was placed into the gifted and talented art class at Cockeysville Middle School. “In eighth grade, I discovered my talent, but at JC, I discovered my passion for art,” Minnis said.

When she came to JC and started taking art classes, she immediately established a strong bond with art teacher and fine arts department chair Bruno Baran. “Mr. Baran actually calls himself my ‘school dad,’” Minnis said. She attributes some of her passion to seeing Baran demonstrate his own passion, and relates to and understands the way he creates art and uses color.

Her art career immediately flourished, and Minnis won a first place ribbon for a watercolor piece her freshman year. Sophomore year, she won first place for the entire JC Art Show, and junior year she won Best in Show for her painting portfolio.  At Fine Arts Night this year, Minnis plans to include all of her work in the show, letting people see the way her works progressed.

 Minnis primarily uses oil paint, and this year she has been concentrating more on doing portraits, in part for her senior project. Minnis decided she wanted to do a series of portraits of people with hands on their face. Her senior project will be this collection of portraits, both drawn and painted, that each have a message. “Something as simple as having your hands on your face can convey a lot of emotion,” Minnis said.

Minnis got her idea for her senior project from her painting of junior Rawlison Zhang.  The portrait is one of her favorite pieces she has painted. The piece is a portrait of Zhang that captures him with barbed wire around his face. “It’s the first piece I have done that has a story and makes the viewers think about it. I want to start creating a story behind every piece that I do,” Minnis said.

 Minnis also recently did a painting of senior Kaley Martin. “She is embarrassed and is hiding behind her hands but she has so much color and light behind her, that she has nothing to be hiding from,” Minnis said.

According to Minnis, art has a strong pull on her emotions. “When a painting or drawing is going so well, it’s all I can think about, and I want to show everyone,” Minnis said. She sees the important relationship between works of art and the people who view those works, so she is willing to share her work with others.

Next year Minnis will be attending Towson University, where she plans on taking art classes and furthering her craft. Currently, Minnis hopes that she can pursue a career in art. “Being an artist, you see everything in life differently. Even if I don’t pursue a career in art, I know I will still use it every day, and art will always be in my life,” Minnis said. “I will always keep painting even if I’m not a career artist.”

Karly Horn is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.