Alyson Marteney graduated from the Bromfield High School in 2011. In the fall, she will be attending Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) majoring in illustration. While in high school she had an opportunity to experiment to her heart's desire. Alyson reminisces, "Inspired and encouraged by Mrs. Cook's art classes which were very open to wild creations, I learned to incorporate and play with a wide variety of media. From old national geographic magazines to old tardy slips, I can create a canvas with almost anything! Sometimes it's in an attempt to say something more about the medium itself. Other times the medium is not symbolic, it is simply something that is fun to play with and to paint."

Her love of experimenting with a wide range of materials, subjects, and themes is largely about expressing the irrepressible contents of her vivid imagination. Alyson muses, "Lots of people have amazing imaginations but few people have the capability to express or draw what they are thinking. I basically do that alot. I am constantly thinking what if…. So, for example, I'll see an old tree and think to myself what if there were tiny people living in this tree, like the tree is an entire colony or city… what would their life be like? What would their clothes, their houses, their streets look like?"

"When I get an idea in my head I have to express it. Not just for me, not just to depict this scene I have imagined, but to see what other people think of it. If I think of something while I'm out walking, I'm like an author, I have to write it down – make notes – so that I can go back and draw or paint it out later. It's kind of an addiction. I literally will think of an idea, go up to my room or to the computer for 10 hours and get it out. Other times, I just feel inspired by my friends, nature, or some other thing, and I'll make some art. I love art and am keenly aware of how it affects other people, not just me. If you go into a house, the art around you (the interior design, the paint on the walls, the paintings around you) all make up the atmosphere of the house. Art clearly has an impact upon all of our lives, our moods, and our feelings."

In one of Julie Cook's art classes, Alyson was given an assignment to create mandalas on black paper. This project was particularly fun for her. She explains, "I love color and finding what colors look good together and learning which don't. I continued working on more mandalas once the assignment was over just because I enjoyed them so much! I looked up henna tattoos online because I love those designs and I incorporated them into the mandalas. The mandalas just came from the heart. Like the Tibetan monks who create beautiful ones and then destroy them, I didn't make them because I had to or because they were in demand, but because they were fun and the process was so calming!"

In college, Alyson hopes to experiment further to get a taste of as many different forms of art as possible. Eventually she aspires to work as an artist in the entertainment (game or movie) industry behind the scenes. Although Alyson has never taken any graphic classes, her parents recently bought her a tablet – the electronic form of drawing, where one draws on the device and it shows up on the computer. She has been experimenting with it ever since. She explains, "I am very interested in concept art, which is what animators base their art off. Most concept art is 2D or 3D physical models, and that's where the animators come in later to make it digital 3D. The mushrooms (shown here) I thought of before the movie Avatar came out! I always loved the idea of a world where the phosphorescent mushrooms (like the ones in Japan) or plants, flowers, and algae light the streets rather than fire or consumables. I drew these pictures using Adobe Photoshop with my tablet!"

Alyson expects that the type of illustrating she will pursue will incorporate both the digital and physical drawing. She confesses, "I love the tablet but sometimes a piece of art is more personal and meaningful when it has been done by hand – you can always tell when reading children’s stories. One of my favorite stories was drawn with colored pencils! I find that illustrating with the computer allows a great deal more detail, but I expect that in illustration the medium, like any other piece of art, is important to the piece as a whole."

She also hopes to take some photography classes at MICA , especially dark room photography rather than digital. The physical and chemical processes of a dark room have always been mysterious and intriguing to her. She has taken some photography classes and views her photos as potential inspiration for future projects as well as a medium for some of her other art. For her community service project she helped create the Hidden Harvard photography show sponsored by For Art's Sake this spring. "I was able to experience jurying a show firsthand. We were able to connect with the community while learning some valuable skills such as evaluating work, displaying it and promoting the show.”

As a member of the Bromfield National Arts Honor Society, she participated in the Memory Project in which students made portraits of Indonesian children to send back to them. She explains, "I love the Memory Project because it shows you how art really can impact someone's life in the best way. When I was in Nicaragua, I experienced this as well. I drew a mural inside our host's house upon his request, and in return he gave me a coconut! But that wasn't the best part. The man thanked me in Spanish and told me how now every time someone stays at his house, he will ask them to add to the wall so that his house becomes a house of hospitality. I was touched, to say the least. This experience and the Memory Project really gave me a more global taste of the affects of art."

Does she have any advice for art students in high school who are considering studying art in college? "Definitely get started on your portfolio now. Don't slack off in gym, it brings your GPA down! Push yourself to try new things but make sure you have the foundations in there – figure drawing, painting, etc. Make way more art than you think you need. Try to make at least two finished works a week outside of school if not more. I ended up using every piece of art from my junior year in my portfolio."

To say that Alyson is thrilled to get into her first choice college in the fall is an understatement. "Yes I’m excited! I cannot wait to experience the big city, the college life, and the professional setting with other artists. I'm ready for the competition and challenges ahead! Her imagination is already climbing the walls, busily planning its next great escape.

For more information about Alyson's work, contact her at alymarteney@gmail.com or visit her on Facebook.