BILLINGS — Art doesn’t fit into a box.
"Art is very subjective. It’s very personal," Kassandra Anton said. "People create things and express themselves in many different ways."
Anton is the perfect example.
"Kassie is so brilliant, so happy, so kind, one of the most polite students I’ve ever had," said Tori Parker, Anton's art teacher at Billings West. "But her portfolio lends itself to darker subject matter.”
It’s not what you’d expect from this brilliant, bubbly senior. But Anton is driven by emotion, just like all of us are. She knew exactly what she wanted her AP Art and Design portfolio to focus on.
"Mine has to do with the effects of guilt on people, as well as aggression - how it affects connections with people," she said.
"She's really good at tapping into her own experiences and translating that into a surreal, emotional, raw feeling," Parker added.
It’s a rare ability for someone so young. Anton remembers an inflection point around 12 years old.
"I remember being upset one day - I can't remember what about - and I just remember drawing these two people hugging, and they were lying on the ground, hugging," Anton said. "I think back to that piece and how much emotion I put into it. I know exactly what I was thinking, what music I was listening to. I think emotion is really carried throughout my pieces."
It is for everything now. This is the first year in decades West has offered an AP art course, thanks to Anton and her classmates’ insistence over the last couple years.
"I've been able to do a lot more than I thought I could do," Anton said of the class' effect.
Usually in color.
"I put a lot of colors into the emotions I feel," she said. "Red is very saturated and intense, so if I'm trying to portray anger or aggression, I use a lot of reds. If I'm trying to show sadness or depression, I use a lot of blues and cooler tones. My favorite color is purple. My sister’s favorite was pink, so naturally mine was purple. We were just like that."
For now, art is a release. Anton plans to study nursing at Montana State next year, but she hasn’t ruled out a future commission career. She’s already got a little experience.
"I remember I cried (during my first commission) because I was embarrassed," she said. "I was excited to help, but I was most nervous she wouldn’t like it. She loved it, she was so happy, but I think that’s an artist’s biggest fear."
But fear has never scared Anton away.
"A lot of people think there’s a type, a type that deals with heavier emotions, mental health challenges, but there is no type. It’s literally everybody," Parker said. "She's just really good at navigating emotions through what she creates. Some people might look at it and think that's kind of aggressive or scary but then do a double-take and realize it's actually quite beautiful."
