Mylee Towne: An artist of many talents

With charcoal stained hands and a thoughtful expression, GHS senior Mylee Towne reaches out to blend the stark lines in front of her. Although some of the students around her are only taking the class to fulfill their art credits, that is not the case for Towne, whose synonym for passion is an empty canvas and a whole lot of art supplies to fill it with. 

A creative soul since her youth, Towne spent many days coloring with her grandfather, the inspiration behind each drawing coming from the platform Musical.ly (now TikTok).

“I think I’ve always been into art,” Towne said. “But, during freshman year when I realized I was actually kind of good at it, I got a lot more serious about it and spent a lot more time drawing.” 

The years she’s spent furthering her talent have not gone unnoticed, as Towne has received multiple recognitions for her art pieces, including most recently, the Gold Key Award. 

The Gold Key is a type of Scholastic Art and Writing Award for students in grade 7-12, which is presented by the Alliance For Young Artists and Writers. At the regional level, applicants can also receive a Silver Key or Honorable Mention award. As the highest regional award, Gold Key recipients are also considered for national scholarships and awards including the Gold Medal and Silver Medal. 

Towne received the award for a 18 by 24 inch graphite observation drawing titled “Still Life with Plants”, which she created this past summer. 

“I spent 20 hours on it and I’m so proud of how it came out,” Towne said. “I think objectively it’s the best piece I’ve done and I love how it looks.” 

The only other GHS student to receive a Scholastic Art and Writing Award was senior Elizabeth Camelia who received a Silver Key and an Honorable Mention award. 

“I was a Scholastic Art judge for about five years so I know that it’s really the opinion of the few people who are judging it and sometimes because art is very personal it doesn’t always resonate,” art teacher Lorrinda Cerrutti said. “But because their technique is so advanced it just couldn’t be denied, so I was glad it was recognized by the judges.” 

In addition to taking some of Cerrutti’s classes, such as Studio Art, Towne has explored other modes of creativity in classes like clayworks, photography, printmaking, and more. Still, Cerrutti’s teaching has remained one of the most impactful parts of Towne’s high school experience. 

“Ms. C has given me the  space and equipment to explore different mediums and grow my passion,” Towne said. “She’s an incredible teacher and she is so amazing at cultivating positive relationships with her students – she is so many peoples’ favorite teacher here because it’s so easy to feel comfortable around her.”

In addition to numerous art classes, Towne’s extracurriculars are also deeply rooted in creativity, as she was inducted into the National Art Honor Society last March, and was later elected president in June. 

“I did most of the organizing for our first fundraiser which was the You Got Framed Fundraiser,” Towne said. “I got to drive around and move signs from house to house under the cover of night.” 

The Gold Key is not the only recognition Towne has received, as she was one of three seniors to be awarded a $15,000 annual scholarship to attend the Montserrat College of Art. Towne attended a 3 week pre-college program there over the summer, living in the apartment style dorms with four other roommates. 

During the program, Towne spent her time rotating between three classes: drawing which she had every day, and then painting and printmaking that switched each day. In addition to using mediums like ink which she does not typically have access to, Towne also tried out entirely new mediums during the program. 

“I used charcoal for the first time there and I loved it,” Towne said. “We used more charcoal than anything else but I made one huge piece that took maybe three classes and I drew a skeleton in a veil.”  

In addition to Montserrat College, Towne’s other top choice is Lesley University. Regardless of which school she attends, Towne plans on studying art education. 

“I had no idea what I wanted to do before last year but Ms. C is a great teacher,” Towne said. “She is really close with a lot of her students and I want to be that for people.” 

After college, Towne wants to pursue a career as an art teacher, specializing in areas like drawing, painting, and printmaking. Although her mind is not made up on where she’d prefer to teach – either locally or far away – Towne knows that she will go to conventions and fairs to sell her art pieces on the side. 

From coloring books to regional recognition and scholarship awards, Towne’s art journey has been one of learning and growth.

“I think the biggest piece for Mylee was I have seen her confidence grow,” Cerrutti said. “She innately has a lot of talent but as a freshman she wasn’t very confident. Over the years she has become more willing to take more risks with her art and try things out of her comfort zone.”