Homegrown: Cassie Sterbenz

Graphite covering her fingers, senior Cassie Sterbenz leans back to examine her work. The image that has been stuck in her mind all day has finally been placed permanently on paper. Her creation, a Native american chief, stares hopefully into the distance, the future. She smiles, her mind feeling clear for the first time all day. For as long as she can remember, drawing has been her way of making sense of the world. Taking seemingly pointless scenes and objects and giving them meaning.

“When I draw, I am not just making something that will look nice. It needs something behind it,” she says, pulling out sketches from past art classes. That “something” behind her art is exactly what makes it unique. There always seems to be a meaning, a thought, a hidden message imploring the viewer to look closer.

She began drawing because of her dad. “He is the one who made me start, now it’s other artists and people who push me farther and make me want to try new things,” she says when discussing her artistic beginnings. While trying things such as painting and other media are new and exciting, plain and simple graphite pencils are her tools of choice. Her thoughts flow from her mind through the pencil to create emotion filled works.
After winning several awards and Best-in-show at a school sponsored art show during her junior year, Cassie looks forward to the coming year with anticipation. She is enrolled in AP art and is beginning to look at which college programs suit her style the most. She plans to strongly focus on art in the coming years. “It is such a huge part of my life. Art is my form of expression. It helps me discover who I am and what I like.” It is clear from her art thus far that Cassie is not afraid to try new things and express exactly what she feels, not relying on others to choose her expressions for her.