APW JSHS is proud to recognize our “Aspiring Artists,” where each month we feature an exceptional young artist within our school. This May, we have the pleasure of featuring junior Katherine Babcock.

Katherine Babcock is still a junior, but she’s already thinking hard about her future.

Growing up, she had always wanted to be a chemist but now looks forward to leaning into her artistic talents. “I want to be a tattoo artist,” she explains. “And mortician is my backup.” She gestures toward a small, white jawbone – from a mink – that she wears like a necklace.

Throughout this interview, Katherine glazes a unique ceramic piece meant to hold chips and dipping sauces. The work involves five conjoined bowls with a smaller bowl embedded in the largest one.

“For guac,” she clarifies.

Her work as an artist is varied; While she loves to sketch and draw, she also enjoys oil and acrylic painting. “I actually just sold my first oil painting!” she says excitedly. “For sixty bucks!”

Ceramics is a relatively new skill for Katherine, though she’s already proven herself to be an exceptional ceramicist. She took her first ceramics class during what she refers to as “The Covid Year.”

“I literally did not touch clay at all, so I didn’t know anything about ceramics,” she says remembering the difficulties posed by the pandemic. “I didn’t know how to throw or how to hand build. So really, this is my first year of actually being able to do things in ceramics. I’ve only been doing it a year!”

Katherine’s ceramic work shines with her unique ability to use glazes. By layering her colors, she achieves vibrant and beautiful colors on all her pieces. “When I glaze,” she notes, “I really don’t have a plan. I just stack them on top of each other and hope for the best!”

When asked for her sources of inspiration, Katherine admits to following a number of artists on Instagram, but none really stand out over others.

“Of course, I’m inspired by Ms. Coons. I love her a lot,” says Katherine. “But really, there’s not one source of inspiration. I just do my own thing.”

May 2023