Meet Bonnie Abbott, a senior at Loretto Academy who has been sharing her artistic talent with our school since pre-kindergarten.

Abbott has been a member of National Art Honor Society (NAHS) since her junior year, and she is also one of the few students enrolled in AP Art this year.

In this class, she will be developing a professional portfolio of her artwork to be submitted at the end of the semester to potentially earn college credit.

Abbott was also enrolled in graphic design classes in her junior year.

Ms. Jensen, Loretto’s art and graphics teacher, said, “Bonnie is an artist to her soul; she lacks the arrogance that other young artists tend to have and instead is very humble.

“Her work is quiet and serene while still being very experimental — even her most dramatic imagery has a quiet sense to it, which shows a very distinct maturity that I deeply respect.

“She has a really beautiful feel for realism in an abstract way, and when you look at her work, you can just sense that a story is being told.”

Abbott’s preferred artistic media are watercolor, graphic design, and animation. 

Abbott said, “I’ve been making art really for as long as I can remember; I always thought drawing was fun and the more I did it, the better I got.

“As I tried different mediums, I discovered that I loved watercolor over other more predictive arts like acrylic paints; recently, however, I’ve been making pieces on my computer with a drawing pad.”

One of Abbott’s favorite pieces is a stop-motion animation that she created in her graphic design class last year entitled Doodles.

In stop-motion animation, the artist takes several still photographs of objects moving in small increments to simulate motion.

Abbott said, “When I was making it, I didn’t realize that a bug had crawled across the camera as I was taking pictures. 

“Despite the glare, the bugs, and the reflections, that piece is one of my favorites.”

Abbott’s artwork was also displayed at the art show that NAHS hosted at Loretto last year. 

She will also be submitting pieces to this year’s NAHS art show on April 15; the exhibition will center around the theme of freedom and oppression.

Abbott said, “I like making art because it gives me something to do with my hands that other people can enjoy.

“It lets me communicate what I feel, but it also lets me escape from the clear cut learning that comes with reading a textbook.”

Ms. Jensen said, “Bonnie has a loose style, one that conveys a reverence for nature in its simplicity.

“She’s very innately talented but she’s always pushing herself to learn more — she takes what she is given and goes to the next level.”

“She always gives herself completely to her art, whether it’s writing, drawing, animation, or digital.”

Abbott continues to share her artistic talent with the Loretto community through her membership in NAHS and her enrollment in AP Art classes this year.

Congratulations on being selected for artist of the month, Abbott!