West High graduate's work part of Governor's Traveling Exhibit
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Surfing through a range of media and excelling in all, Breanne LeJeune is poised at the edge of possibility.
A 2003 graduate of Traverse City West High School, the depth of LeJeune's creative talents seem limitless. A painter and drawer who jumped full tilt into photography in her senior year, LeJeune's work 'Break a Leg' is now traveling the state as part of the Governor's Traveling Exhibit. She completed the project last year in her Advanced Placement Studio Art class, taking 15 to 20 hours to develop different versions of black and white images and add a digital collage.
While she actively eschews the pretensions of having her artwork "mean something," LeJeune said this work reflected the universal struggle of being different, of finding an identity.
"She started playing with ideas, social issues, issues of social acceptance, identity and the ability to put your identity out into public," noted Dan Lisuk, LeJeune's art teacher at West High School. "It was pretty heavy stuff for a high school kid to be dealing with."
"She has a very mature level of art," he added.
The exhibit, which stopped earlier this month at West High School for a few days, consists of 30 pieces chosen last May at the 2003 Michigan Youth Arts Festival. This prestigious festival is held every year at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and draws the best and the brightest talents from around the state. In addition to being chosen for the exhibit, LeJeune's mixed media was also named to the Top Eight of the show.
Launching her college career with this accolade does not phase LeJeune, who simmers with creative intensity and ideas.
"I have a very strong vision of things and I have to figure out how to get there," said LeJeune, who is now attending Western Michigan University but plans to transfer to Grand Valley State University next semester.
LeJeune dove into the artistic opportunities at West, taking two year of Advanced Placement Studio Art, photography, theater and journalism classes. Art teacher Lisuk watched LeJeune blossom artistically during her high school years.
"She's always had the ideas, always been incredibly creative," said Lisuk, who also serves as the district support specialist for K-12 art in Traverse City Area Public Schools. "Where she really started to branch out was when she got into photography, she really clicked into that and really loved it. She assimilated all the fundamentals right away and started making her own parts for the enlarger so she could print what she need for her works."
"When I saw that I knew she was going to succeed," he noted.
LeJeune's creativity is leading her in a new direction: creative writing. While she still takes photographs, occasionally trolling with a friend to find subjects or scenes that interest her, the process of writing has captivated her. The feedback from her professors and peers in class is fueling her voice and determination to pursue this new path.
"I am in a creative writing class right now and I love it, they really give you good criticism," said LeJeune, who grew up always sketching, painting and drawing. "Most of the people in the class are amazing, they have a really good style and voice, I've never had other people I've wanted to write like before."
Admitting to being a perfectionist, LeJeune said that trait has made her struggle with visual arts. She would spend hours and hours on a painting or drawing, obsessing over getting every detail right so it matched her vision. She was relieved and freed up somewhat when she veered into photography. This medium allowed her to recreate exactly what she saw.
"Art was really tedious sometimes, I would stay up and do it all night, not sleep or eat," she recalled. "So each work would take 30 hours, which is ridiculous."
Using words instead of film or canvas, the process of expressing herself accelerated, bursting a dam of output.
"With writing, it is good to have a different way to express myself," said LeJeune, who plans to double major in creative writing and either photography or painting. "Writing is so much faster and easier for me."