Danity Pike ‘27 | Maeve Martinelli ‘27 | Annie Le ‘27
To be an artist is not simply to have talent in painting, drawing, or sculpting. These skills are only a fraction of the requirements for creating art. Lauren Williams ’24 is revered by friends and teachers not only for her talent, but also for her ability to remain a positive and kind light in any space she enters. “I think her positive attitude towards things and willingness to try and fail and laugh at herself and not be too critical of herself helps her to have so much success,” says David Sigel, Upper School art teacher, “She is very gregarious, bubbly, friendly, and kind; she can talk to anybody in the studio and is great at making connections there.”
Williams’s preferred artistic medium is two-dimensional art. Classmate and friend Julianna Yates ’24 states, “…she really likes oil painting and doing observational stuff and loves to get out of her comfort zone by painting people.” Williams aims to express identity in her art, and she is always experimenting with negative space and inspiration from modern works. She also varies the thickness and color of the shapes in her work to bring dimension to her work
Photo courtesy of Luka Filipovski ’25
Williams aims to incorporate her emotions and experiences to her art, adding a thoughtful and reflective air to her works. She comments, “I love making art because it’s really a place where you can represent yourself, express yourself, and feel calm after a really long day…and just do whatever. I really like looking at all the different types of art forms, because I like just being able to see the people express different types of emotions.” Williams has created pottery, paintings, sketches, and much more during her time at EA. Her representation of a variety of emotions can be seen in an art piece she is currently working on in class. The artwork depicts an orange in which each slice aims to represent a different aspect of Williams’ life. She notes, “I cut the pieces in a certain way to represent how I am feeling at the end of the day, like after a long school day, and then how I try to put myself back together but I’m not completely going to be there. They represent stages of myself.”
Jack Cellucci ’24 further describes Williams’ thoughtful artwork regarding a piece she created depicting her Trinidadian mother. The work showed Williams’ mother in a white headdress with an orange background, influenced by Williams’ heritage. Cellucci states, “I think she really has a grip on the nuances of reality. I think she can really convey what she feels and where she comes from and who she comes from, in a way that a lot of kids our age can’t.” Williams has the sophisticated ability to connect her background and family to her art pieces, showing the significance of artistic expression in her life. Cellucci also commented on Williams’ friendly personality and the positive effect it has on other students. “Lauren is a person at Episcopal who just makes me laugh,” he says. “[she] and I can just look at each other and then start giggling for a good 30 minutes, and I really think that energy is what makes her so successful.”
Williams’s success as both an artist and a person can serve as inspiration for every student and teacher at EA. Her creativity and commitment to her art encourage those around her, and the sincerity of her personality takes form in mature artwork. Sigel describes, “I just think as a teacher, you are there to always teach whoever walks into your class, and sometimes, you’re given the gift of having somebody like Lauren.”