It’s always the most unsuspecting moments that create the most extraordinary things. This was especially true for senior and artist Helen Lea. On a summer service trip, Lea took some pictures of the Carhenge statue in Alliance, Nebraska. It is a scale model of Stonehenge that is made out of old cars, hence the name. Bringing the pictures back to the studio in the fall of her junior year, she decided to paint one of them in acrylic on a big canvas.

At first it seemed like it would just be another painting, nothing out of the ordinary. However, as time went on, the excitement about the project built up and she started adding a lot of details. Well, when you’re using an 18 × 24 canvas and adding a lot of details it’s going to take quite a while to finish. Fast forwarding two months later, the painting turned out to be one of her favorite pieces and one she finds as “the crown jewel” of her portfolio.

“The effort I put into Carhenge really paid off because it is the most realistic piece I have ever painted and the colors all turned out really vibrant. I put it in every portfolio I assemble, usually as the first piece to catch the viewer’s eye,” Lea said.

It is now in her IB Visual Art gallery and her most favorite piece up to this point.

Helen’s interest in art started at a young age. She would go everywhere with art martials like markers, crayons, and a pad of paper. Her mom, Highland math teacher Sara Lea, would find her creating and drawing from places like her family’s minivan, inside grocery carts when shopping, and even to the doctor’s office (the examining table’s white butcher paper being her drawing pad). She even learned to write at a very young age because of her continuous use of drawing tools.

Besides from her family, recognition for her passion really began in kindergarten where she attended a summer art program at a local public library. A teacher there requested Helen to be a student of hers. She joined during 1^st grade and has had private lessons up until high school. Having a love for color, perspective, and creating stuff – among other things – it was almost like her passion was made for her.

“There’s something calming about recreating the world through your own eyes, putting an artistic spin on it in a way that only you can, as your [own] individual artist,” Lea said.

She is also a music enthusiast. Helen can play the piano, flute, piccolo, keyboard, and keytar. She enjoys the genres of pop/rock, folk, today’s hits, and contemporary Christian music. Some of her other hobbies include things like gardening, skiing, and baking. She has competed in robotics competitions, gone to the state science fair every year, coordinates parties for her friends, and is active in community service.

“Helen is open minded and curious so enjoys the challenge of learning.  I always wondered how she would settle on one passion in her high school years,” Mrs. Lea said.

Helen’s love for academics and learning can be seen in the amount of hard work she puts towards her education. She was in the ELP program in middle school, has taken some AP classes, and is in the IB program. While finding it hard to pick a favorite subject, she finds math in particular intriguing for its challenging nature and the ability it gives her to put things together like puzzles. Her love for art has definitely helped her in other classes as well.

“I’ve noticed that, since pursuing art, I’ve become a very visual learner and that has helped me to excel in my classes that aren’t art. [Skills] like color coding and visualization have become a big part of my life,” Lea said. “There are lots of studies that say that artistic students do better in school and I really agree with that.”

Helen has two sisters, one younger and the other an exchange student, who currently go to Highland. She has been living in Salt Lake with her family for seven years now. Her friends and family have been a source of support and have helped her develop and further her passion.

“I feel like family and friends are a good source of critique that you can take without feeling too attacked,” Lea said. “I [can] come home and show my mom or friends this new painting that I’ve done and then they’ll tell me what they like about it or what they think is weird about it and then I can take that and build it from there, so that’s really helped.”

Her favorite art-related moment was this last summer when she went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a two-week class and she got to work on drawing the urban landscape of the city.

“It really built my artistic practice, I learned to be more conceptual, I learned new techniques, I worked with students who also love art as much as I do, and I got to work with professors with my art,” Lea said.

She got to explore the city and at the end of those two weeks her art was displayed at a huge gallery in downtown Chicago. Looking to the future, she hopes to become a design architect and use her skills and love for art in her desired profession.

One of the proudest moments of her life was becoming a Sterling Scholar. Having worked really hard in improving her art for the past four years, this was such an amazing accomplishment to see her work rewarded and brought her great pride.

Helen’s outgoing personality can be seen every day in her kindness to others and thoughtfulness when working.

“Helen was born with a smile on her face.  She has a sunny disposition, and can always see the positive side,” Sarah Lea said. “She has a strong faith so she has compassion for humans that behave badly, as she knows there is good in everyone.  She leads by example, so others will strive to be their best rather than knock others down.”

One particular art-related memory her mom has of her was in 2015 when Helen surprised her with an acrylic painting of a sunset on the Pacific Ocean. It hands proudly in their dining room where her mom can see it anywhere in the house.

“It gives me hope to look at it, as there is always a new day after that sunset.  It reminds me to never give up,” Sarah Lea said.

For her finding a particular moment where she was proud of her daughter is every moment, every day.

“It’s the simple things that make me proud.  How she is kind to everyone, how she puts others before herself, her dedication to family, her discipline with her AP and IB classes, and her passion to be a life-long learner,” Mrs. Lea said. “She enjoys the challenge of trying something new, falling on her rear, brushing herself off, and trying again.  She doesn’t quit on herself, her future or others.  That’s what makes me proud.”

Helen not only exemplifies what it means to be an artist, she shows what it means to be a friend, daughter, sister, student, and so much more. Whether it’s with creating a new art piece or learning something new she is a scholar in every sense of the word.