Elsie’s Story
A small-town girl from Montana, Elsie Ambrose ’24 moved to the artistic haven of Walnut Hill with ambitions for greatness. Supported by artistic parents throughout her life, her passion for visual art pushed her to find a school where she could pursue a high school education and artistic expression simultaneously. She found that and more in the Walnut Hill Visual Art Department.
"I was looking for a place where I could be around more like-minded artists and experiment in many different artistic disciplines,” she says. “But even more than that, I was looking for a community, a welcoming place where I felt like I belonged. I am happy to say I overwhelmingly found both. There is a community and place for everyone at Walnut Hill.”
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Exploring New Mediums at Walnut Hill
At Walnut Hill School for the Arts, one of the best high schools for visual art in the country, Elsie was introduced to a wide range of artistic mediums she hadn’t previously been able to explore. The resources available to her at Walnut Hill, from printmaking machines to ceramics studios to darkrooms, opened doors that had previously been closed due to her rural upbringing. Ceramics in particular became an unexpected love, expanding how she conceptualized her art.
“I really enjoyed ceramics... I just didn’t think in a 3D way beforehand,” Elsie explains.
The hands-on experience with different materials helped her push boundaries and approach art in new, exciting ways.
A Safe Space to Use Art to Process Grief
For Elsie, art has become a powerful outlet for processing complex emotions, including the loss of her father when she was nine years old.
“I wasn’t able to talk about his death with words because it is often a very uncomfortable situation for other people,” Elsie shares.
Through her work at Walnut Hill and guided by empathetic teachers, she found a way to express these deep feelings visually.
“My teachers really helped me navigate my grief and I was able to present it in my art in a way that I wasn’t able to in words,” she says. “At Walnut Hill, teachers really want to hear your story and your voice and what you have to say.”
This support has not only advanced her artistic practice, but has also helped her manage her grief and deal with this loss.
“That meant so much to me—not only in my art journey, but as a person and a human being. I was really able to grieve, which is very healing.”
An “Artist-to-Artist” Teacher-Student Atmosphere
One of the most distinctive aspects of Walnut Hill is the close, artist-to-artist relationship between students and faculty. Unlike more traditional teacher-student dynamics, Walnut Hill fosters an environment where instructors are viewed as fellow artists. Elsie says it’s not like anything she’d experienced at her previous schools.
“These teachers are also artists themselves... It’s more of an artist-to-artist relationship than a staff-to-student relationship, which is so cool.”
This informal, yet deeply respectful relationship allows for more meaningful mentorship, where teachers like Ken Tighe, the head of the Visual Art Department, help students develop their portfolios and explore their artistic voices in a collaborative way.
Meet Beau, a passionate filmmaker who was inspired by his teachers to submit his scripts and short films to competitions.
A Bright Future Ahead
As she enters her next chapter at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City as a freshman studying art, Elsie feels confident that Walnut Hill has prepared her well for the challenges ahead.
“There’s a lot of assignments and projects I’ve already been given that I have experience with where many other students haven’t,” she notes.
The skills she’s gained at Walnut Hill, along with the relationships she’s built with both her peers and teachers, have set her on a path toward continued artistic growth and success.
In reflecting on her journey, Elsie is grateful for the doors that Walnut Hill has opened, and how it might not have been possible had she not sought out this kind of education.
“Walnut Hill opens so many doors in the artistic world,” she emphasizes.
Whether it’s in the studio, the classroom, or beyond, Elsie’s time at Walnut Hill has laid the foundation for a promising future in the arts.
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