ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JENNIFER PROFFITT
If you’re looking for a small piece of the Sistine Chapel in Hillsboro, meander down to the high school.
Sarah Prieb, a Hillsboro High School senior, has decided to re-create part of Michaelangelo’s masterpiece.
Prieb had a request for the painting from Carolyn Long, her math teacher and basketball and softball coach.
“I decided to make it really big because I had no other projects at the time,” she said.
Prieb put her own spin on the creation.
“I made it a triptic, which is three canvases,” she said. “It’s just a different way of portraying it.”
She said it took a long time to complete, but she is pleased with the results.
“I like it because on the middle piece it focuses on the two fingers,” she said.
Prieb says she likes all kinds of art and really doesn’t have a particular style.
“I just try to do what people like,” she said.
Focusing on others seems to be the common theme that pervades Prieb’s artwork.
She painted a beach scene for one of her teachers because the teacher’s office had no windows.
“Whatever I do, I make it so if I’m giving it to someone, it would be what they would want,” she said.
Prieb said she mostly creates projects for other people.
“I find that’s when I do my best work,” she said. “I think it’s selfish to just make something and keep it.”
Prieb says the few pieces she keeps are ones no one else would want.
“I have these blowfish mugs I made out of clay,” she said. “You can drink out of them, but I don’t know if anybody else would like them.”
In addition to painting and sculpting, Prieb draws and does just about anything else that will allow her to work with her hands.
“I basically do everything,” she said. “I don’t like one style more than the other, but I think mixed media collage is the most fun.”
Prieb said the collages are made of all kinds of materials and, while they take the longest to make, they look the “coolest” when they’re completed.
“I like mixed media because there are a lot more materials I can choose from to work with,” she said. “It’s not just a square piece of canvas, it can be anything.”
Something new for Prieb this year is jewelry making-a technique Dustin Dalke, her high school art teacher, encouraged her to try.
“I think I’ve taken every art class available in school,” she said. “I really wanted to take jewelry because I saw some of Mr. Dalke’s work and it made me want to try it.”
Prieb said Dalke has been supportive and inspirational.
“Mr. Dalke has been the coolest art teacher I’ve had,” she said. “He’s been really helpful and positive about what I’ve been doing with my artwork.”
Prieb said she appreciates the freedom he gives her to pursue the projects that interest her the most.
She also credits Dalke with challenging her to be better.
“Whenever they taught a new technique, I’d try to think of a cool way to do it in a new way,” she said. “Mr. Dalke would help me do that.”
Even though her teachers have given her a lot of freedom, Prieb says many of her projects are time consuming.
“I still like to have a goal for when I want to get a project done because if I didn’t have a goal I’d never get done,” she said.
Prieb said completing a project has its own benefits.
“It’s so rewarding when I finish a project,” she said. “That’s an awesome feeling because it used to be a blank piece of canvas and now its something.”
While she is proud of her accomplishments, Prieb doesn’t feel the need to brag.
“I don’t go around saying I’m an artist,” she said. “My siblings are all 4.0 GPAs and I’m not great at that, but I have art. It’s something I can go home and show Mom and Dad and be proud of.”
Dalke is proud of his student.
“Sarah is an overachiever and she is very creative,” he said. “She spends as much time as she possibly can in the art room and it shows.”
Dalke said Prieb has a natural talent for drawing.
“She can look at something and put it on paper. Translating images like that can be extremely difficult and Sarah is very good at it. Drawing is obviously a highlight for her,” he said.
Dalke also said Prieb is always willing to help with whatever needs done in the classroom.
“I’m definitely going to miss her next year,” he said.
Prieb’s talent is impressive, but she said she started out with coloring books just like everyone else.
“Even when I first started drawing, I found it to be fun,” she said. “Everyone liked what I did, so of course I liked it.”
Prieb says her parents were an early influence, too.
“Mom paints on wood and she’s always had art hanging around,” she said. “I like her paintings and my dad doodles a lot. I think some of my artistic-ness came from my parents.”
As much as she enjoys her art, Prieb said not all of her projects turn out right.
“I had to make a huge sculpture out of chicken-wire and paper mache,” she said. “I made a Chineese takeout box, but I didn’t plan it very well and it wouldn’t fit through the door when I was done.
“I had to break it down to get it out so I could take it home. It kept flying out of my car and I had to keep stopping in traffic to pick it up.”
Prieb isn’t sure what happened to the Chineese takeout box, but she said she always has fun with her art.
“It’s fun to make things, but the funnest part is to give it away and see the person’s expression.”
Prieb plans to continue her art career after high school, but plans on studying to be a vet technician.
“It mainly came down to income,” she said. “You don’t ever really hear of rich artists.”
While she has been encouraged to sell her artwork, Prieb said the best creations are the ones you give away.
“I like art because it’s something I can do for other people,” she said. “I think my art does define me because I like to give people more than what they ask for.”
