Sisters art student invited to Carnegie Hall

In middle school, Meganne Mills discovered her talent for art; now a junior at Sisters High School, she has turned her talent into a way to achieve her dreams.

"Since then I've practiced and practiced and practiced," she said. "I did doodles all the time. It's a bit of a release. If I'm not making art I get depressed. At this point, I live and breathe for it."

Meganne's art teacher, Bethany Gunnarson, saw Mills' talent and encouraged her to submit her work in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (SAWA). Two of Mills' submissions received awards on the national level and, if she can come up with the money, she's invited to celebrate and show her work at Carnegie Hall.

With finances tight at home, Mills is working on a way to go to New York with her mother, Karen Elliott and beloved teacher Gunnarson. To make the trip, they need airfare, lodging and some expense money. Gunnarson and Mills figure $2,500 should just about cover it. Any help is welcome, including sharing airline miles or cash donations.

Mills received a Gold Key award for a self-portrait she did at home.

"I was feeling down in the dumps and I wanted to do a painting of the ocean because it makes me feel better," she recalled. "I had no paint and I couldn't get any, so I decided to do a drawing of myself painting with some Copic markers I had at home."

Mills received a Silver Key for a piece she did in class.

"At first, I thought the assignment was kind of boring," she said, "but then I decided to have fun with it." The class was asked to paint a cup in a box to learn about still life techniques.

Later Gunnarson asked Mills to bring in some of her best pieces for submission to the SAWA competition, and she decided on four.

"I made it into the national competition," she said. "It makes me glad to know that it might help me with scholarships."

Students who win at the regional level are celebrated at local ceremonies and have their work showcased in exhibitions, publications and at public readings. National medalists are celebrated at a prestigious Carnegie Hall ceremony and have their work showcased in reputable galleries in New York City.

Mills is clear about what her motivation is for creating art: "The competition is secondary to the outlet art brings. It's the thing I always want to do."

Currently, music has influenced her art heavily, especially the Beatles.

"Some people write songs about how they feel, I interpret my emotions visually and other people's, too," she said.

There's a fundraising effort that will include the Ezra Weiss Sextet, an East Coast band brought to Sisters in May through funding from The Roundhouse Foundation. Art will be created to the music. Mills and fellow student Dakota Wagner will be making the art.

"That night, Meganne will sell prints of her winning SAWA pieces and will auction off the pieces she makes that night," said Gunnarson.

Mills has been in the Sisters schools since pre-school.

"I come from a poor family and I was losing hope that I was going to make it," she said. "But this has given me hope. I really want to go to a culinary school like the Art Institute of Seattle, where I could go for visual arts and cooking.

"I'm really, really thankful for this," she said. "I never thought anything like this would happen. I'm so glad I live in such a supportive community."

For more information about helping Meganne Mills get to Carnegie Hall, contact Bethany Gunnarson at [email protected]