Courtney Lemmerman, daughter of Leah Walz and Joel Lemmerman, was recently named Royalton High School's April Artist of the Month. "Since I could hold a pencil, my mother told me that I was very gifted. I have taken every art class that I could have, but really enjoyed my Independent Art class this year the most." said Lemmerman.

 

About two years ago, Lemmerman was diagnosed with Lyme disease which pulled her from not only main stream classes, but also her extra curricular hobbies as well. "During this time, I couldn't use my hands very well and was very tired all of the time," stated Lemmerman. "I missed my art classes the most. I remember back in seventh grade, walking into the Art room for the very first time. Mr. Halverson helped to arrange my schedule so that I could take a high school art elective after seeing my work. Since that day, he has been pushing me to become a better artist and kind of took me under his wing. He became almost like of a father figure in the way that he would teach me not just art techniques, but help me to focus on the things that I could control in my life. Every day I went into that class, my attitude got better and better. His class made me excited to get up in the morning because I knew that I had a chance to create something that was amazing. He made me focus on the details of portraits, whether they might be imperfections or not. I took this to heart, because I saw myself as imperfect. He explained that imperfections are sometimes what make a person still perfect, still beautiful, just the way that they are if you look for the good in people. The Quiet Riot ceiling tile that I have worked on is a good example of this. Some people might not understand or like the image, but they can still appreciate the painting techniques that go in to the work if they are looking for something good."

 

"Courtney is one of the top student artists I've ever seen walk into my room," said Royalton High School's art instructor Carl Halverson. "She has passed through plenty of obstacles, but made it through them and improved as an artist and as a person along the way. When she entered the art room, she found a place where she could take her amazing talent to the next level. Her ceiling tile work is technically, one of the strongest that I have ever seen. Her use of subdued color, which moves gently from the shadows to the highlights of her work, is truly amazing. What is even more amazing to me is that she has found herself through her success in my room. You would expect to find this from our RHS 'Artists of the Month' winners. But, I noticed that nearly half of our 2018 RHS 'Students of the Month' winners also chose the Art department as their "favorite" when it came to teachers and departments in our school. Courtney Lemmerman is just like these students who found themselves through their work in their favorite class. In fact, her eyes see the world a little differently, because she has the ability to take life's imperfections, and paint them "perfectly" in her own beautiful way."