Affirmation of Passion

The act of creation is a practice of patience; it takes time, diligence and space. And for young artists, as they begin to understand the virtues of their talents, having room to explore is essential. 

For Rachel Peck ’25, who was selected to receive funding from the Oates Emerging Artist grant to attend a summer art-intensive course of her choice, finding that creative space proved to be beneficial to her development as both an artist and student. Her talent as an artist progressed at Collegiate but, when her summer course began, she found herself expanding on what she had already learned. 

Upon hearing she was awarded the grant, Rachel enrolled in Boston University’s Visual Arts Summer Institute, an intensive, four-week long visual arts program designed to help high schoolers build exceptional portfolios and get a taste of the higher education art school experience. The program presents a sampling of practices — ranging from sculpture work to 2D drawing and printmaking — through studio instruction and lectures. With deferential preference for the flatter but equally dynamic space 2D painting and drawing creates, the program challenged Rachel to think about approaches to art differently. “I have always known that I preferred drawing and painting — simply because that’s how my imagination creates images in my head,” she says. “I don’t think upwards the way you need to with sculpture, which was a challenge in this program. I do feel though that being encouraged to think in this 3D way can now be worked into my painting and drawing.” 

Rachel speaks with a casual humility when discussing her work, but, beneath that, there ripples a current of confidence, something that says, I can do this. She’s aware of where her skills as an artist are strongest, which is something she credits to the art program at Collegiate and which she recognized with newfound gratitude during her time in Boston. “Part of the reason why I felt so comfortable in this program and that I can really pursue art is because of the great teachers and programs here at Collegiate,” Rachel says. “Mrs. Sutherland had already taught me so many of the techniques we were discussing in the summer program. Part of art is learning your own style and taste, and Collegiate has really helped me develop my style so that when I was at BU I already knew what I liked to do.”

Her first memories of falling in love with art began with doodling in her mom’s office. She would sit and draw Disney characters, noting the way the original artist approached the contours of the figure and facial features. Later, in Middle School, with the help of Collegiate teachers and programs, she realized that art, for her, transcended the practice of a hobby. She began diligently studying other artists’ approach to the craft — still with a predilection for hyper-realistic animation in the style of Marvel comics. Her work has progressed from her time in Middle School and now features deftly drawn figures that pose as if they’ve been given life. Her work often plays with light and color, finding dollops of joy resting within shadow and shade.

During her four weeks in Boston, Rachel found herself immersed, thinking about art constantly. Each day, after listening to elucidating lectures from speakers on the craft of artmaking, she was challenged with exploring new forms of the craft. The program helped limber her artistic sensibilities and improve her productivity. Each day was a new experience, but each day she rose to the occasion. “The program really helped me be more of myself and lean into what I am strongest at,” she says. “I wasn’t afraid to hide who I was as an artist.”

Artistic skill is a key that gives the artist a unique way of seeing the world, and Collegiate’s Oates Emerging Artist grant is intended to encourage that way of seeing, better preparing them for the future. Like a mindless doodle that over time becomes a refined artwork, Rachel’s time at BU solidified an inclination. Her passion for artmaking, once a nebulous hobby, back in Middle School, has now materialized into a tangible career aspiration. Collegiate helped shape her into the talented artist she is today, but the summer program intensified and affirmed her focus. “Going to the program has reaffirmed my trajectory,” she says. “It has helped me realize that I want to work with art. I’m not doing it for a hobby. I can’t live without art. I want to have art in my life forever.”