By Griffin Rogers
Bellarmine senior Katie Allen didn’t always plan on being an artist.
“I often liked to doodle when I was a kid,” she said. “I would draw scenes from Barbie movies on all my tests and papers, but I never thought anything would come of it.”
It wasn’t until first grade that Katie realized she had a real interest in art.
“I was encouraged by the art teacher to pursue different mediums even though I was in a different class,” Katie said. “I really took a liking to painting.
Katie Allen works on her latest piece in the Sienna Quarto lobby.
Katie continued to enjoy painting in her free time, but she never considered seriously pursuing it as a career.
“I started taking art classes outside of school, too, as part of the Louisville Visual Arts Association,” Katie said. “My mom was a really big supporter of me in my early days.”
Her mother, Laura Allen, said she always knew that her daughter had something special.
“She would fill up all these sketchbooks and sketchbooks with her drawings,” Laura said. “When I saw how she was really enjoying creating art, I just knew that this was something that she needed to do.”
Katie Allen and her mother Laura Allen visit the Tennessee Parthenon, which also functions as an art museum.
The classes helped hone Katie’s skills and eventually in high school, her art teacher began to take notice.
“I first started to pursue art in high school outside of the traditional school setting when I was encouraged to enter the Scholastic Art Awards competition,” Katie said. “At the time, I was doing a series on mental illnesses and was doing a piece on insomnia when my teacher Mrs. Gibbs saw it and thought it was really good.”
Gibbs liked the painting so much, she encouraged Katie to submit it to the competition, Katie said.
“I entered it and actually won an honorable mention, which was awesome,” Katie said. “I never thought that my work would receive recognition like that.”
The painting Katie Allen submitted to the Scholastic Art Awards competition depicts insomnia.
Katie continued to practice her art in high school and ended up discovering a passion in another field.
“I always had an interest in caring for others and how people felt,” Katie said. “It’s why I started the art series that won me the honorable mention (in the Scholastic Art Awards competition).”
Laura wasn’t surprised to learn this.
“Katie has always had a gift for being able to talk to and understand others,” Laura said. “It’s no surprise to me that she would want to go into a profession where she can really help others.”
Katie is now pursuing a double major in art with an emphasis on painting and in psychology with an emphasis on clinical counseling.
Katie said she is grateful her supporters were able to push her to pursue both degrees.
“My mom and teachers were really adamant about me pursuing both degrees when I put in my Bellarmine application, so I am really happy to be able to do both,” Katie said. “I was always interested in the mind, and I used painting to help express my own emotions, so it’s like my two passions were always intertwined from the start.
“I’m very fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to find out what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m hoping to become an art therapist, but if not that then I’ll be a clinical therapist while being an artist on the side.”
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