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Sophomore shares her joy in creating art and shares lessons learned by lexi johnson

Madison Johnson is a sophomore at Norrix. While many students participate in sports or clubs after school, Johnson has dedicated the majority of her free time to her art.

“It helps calm me down, it's just relaxing,” said Johnson.

Art can be a great mindfulness activity for many people, especially this creative Loy Norrix student.

According to a study by Sage Neuroscience Center, “Doing something as simple as coloring, stress levels are seen to drop exponentially” Scientists have also discovered that a person participating in art therapy does not have to be a good artist. The article “How Art Therapy Can Relieve Stress” stated that “The client can just put their thoughts on paper by creating whatever comes to mind.”

Art can be extremely beneficial to anyone, especially young people. Johnson said that she has learned to channel her negative energy into her art when she is frustrated.

“I love that I can channel my anger or frustration into a piece and shape it around myself and my own feelings. It makes them mean so much more to me, like they’re little pieces of myself” Johnson said.

This can be very productive when it is used the right way according to the Sage Neuroscience center it “is one of the best ways to help combat stress in your everyday life.”

Johnson began her artistic journey in elementary school and became very dedicated around the age of 11. In the four years since then, she has explored many different mediums including graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, all different kinds of paint, and much more. Even after using all of these different materials, Madison states that her favorite medium to use is just a simple graphite pencil.

Although Johnson never plans on pursuing a career in art, she sees it as a lifelong hobby and plans to continue to improve her skills in the future.

When you venture into the basement of the Johnson household, Madison’s artwork begins to come to life. She has been working on painting the walls in the art room her parents created for her.

To support her passion in art, Norman and Jenny Johnson turned a spare bedroom in the basement of their home into a space for Johnson to use as her own. She says this project has taken her many weeks and she is most proud of this painting because it is the largest piece she’s ever done.

“I've never done a project this big before and I'm really proud of myself for working with a medium I don't usually use and sticking with it all this time. I feel like it’s really helped me and my art grow over the past few months. It feels great to be so close to finally finishing it” Johnson said.

Madison describes her artistic style as surrealistic. She loves to include shading and dimension into her pieces as it helps “bring them to life.”

Johnson’s dedication is greatly encouraged by her parents who say they are very proud of her. Her parents encourage her by helping her come up with new ideas when she struggles with artist’s block, buying new art supplies and being supportive of her passion.

Artist’s block is something that every artist will struggle with. To combat artist’s block, Johnson looks outwards.

“I think it's interesting to see other peoples; work and get inspiration from other artists and expand my horizons,” said Johnson.

Johnson spends her time looking on Pinterest and TikTok to get new ideas as well.

Johnson says that hard work and dedication is more important than natural talent. With a little hard work, anyone can be a great artist.

“Just keep working at it because it's a skill you have to learn, it doesn't come naturally,” said Johnson.

Though some people are said to be “naturally talented,” everyone can benefit from practice.

“I've been Madison’s best friend for nine years now and I've seen her progressively get better throughout the years. Me and all her other friends are really proud of her.” Sadie Fredericksen said about Johnson.

According to her parents and friends, Madison has always had artistic talent. While this being said, there is an obvious improvement from her art in 2017 compared to now.

“If you look at my first few pieces and my ones now, you can really see the improvement.,” Johnson said, “I've been experimenting with more mediums lately, which is fun.”

Stepping out of her comfort zone really helped Johnson improve because using new and different mediums and techniques helps her learn to adapt.

Art is a hobby that anyone can get into. With a little bit of practice and creativity, there are never ending opportunities for improvement.

“It teaches me more about the real world because I have to pay more attention to it to be able to make art out of it,” Johnson said.

Pursuing a hobby in art can be beneficial to anyone. It can teach you to think critically, produce more creativity, and will add a little bit of color to your everyday life.