Lynn English artist more than medium

LYNN – Lynn English High School junior Jamie Mah carries a sketch pad with her pretty much wherever she goes, but art teacher Martha Brown said that’s not unusual.”What’s unusual is you never know what kind of art supplies she’ll pull out of her backpack,” she said. “It could be a glue gun or some wire or whatever.”It was that kind of tenacity that helped Mah land a spot in the intensive two-day Art All State program held at the Worcester Museum over the summer.”It was amazing,” Mah said.The program brought together 140 juniors from across the state in the name of art. Mah said everyone had their own style and worked in different mediums. Not only did she gain knowledge from her fellow artists, she gained inspiration.To get accepted into the program, Mah had to complete a tough application process that included a written statement, an interview and three works of art, including a self-portrait.”I don’t usually draw people but after doing that I kind of got into it,” she said.Her medium of choice is charcoal but she also paints and creates wire sculptures. During the All State event, students were assigned to small studios where they collaborated with artists/mentors to build large-scale art installations.”We had to create an installation out of three things: twine, balloons and some kind of matting,” Mah said. “We made a sort of spiderweb.”Brown attended the weekend as an observer and said the exhibit was exhilarating.Each group had a room of its own but the space became the work, Brown said.”Windows would disappear, they would take out the chairs and it wouldn’t look like a room because it became the art,” she said.Each studio was given a theme and the museum’s fine art collection served as inspiration. Mah said their theme was chaos, and they used the twine to create a pattern on the walls while tearing the matting into strips and weaving it into a web incorporating the balloons into the design.The program ended with a reception where the public was invited in to see the culmination of the work and Mah’s parents attended.”It was really fun to have them there,” Mah said.”They are very supportive of her work,” Brown added. “Jamie’s parents were thrilled to be there to celebrate.”Brown said Mah came back with all sorts of new ideas and new friends.Mah said she is working on a charcoal sketch of a model, which is difficult because she is creating it on a scale larger than she is used to.”I tend to do small stuff, so I’m trying to work on larger pieces,” she said.In the meantime she is also planning to visit an art school in Ohio. She said she plans to major in fine arts, though she also likes teaching.”You would be a great teacher,” said Fine Arts Director Joseph Picano.Picano praised Mah and her work, and Brown for fueling her student’s drive to learn and create.”This is the result of a teacher going above and beyond ? to cultivate a student like (Jamie) with talent,” he said. “I’m so proud of both of them.”