Creating with Caleb: A High School Senior’s Journey in Art

By Ace Walker  

Caleb using apples as a reference. Photo by Ace Walker.

It's a hot summer day in Nashville, Tennessee in 2016 and the people are in their homes or with their families. While this day goes by, 8-year-old Caleb Williams is watching cartoons wanting to make his own.

He wanted his art to be on TV. He became inspired by what he saw, and this inspiration started his journey to come here. To our school, Nashville School of the Arts High School (NSA), where he has been exploring his creative journey in our very own Visual Art Conservatory. 

The following has been edited and condensed. 

When did you decide that art was your passion? 

I loved watching cartoons when I was a kid, and I wanted to make my own. Growing up, I was surrounded by constant artistic influences.

What is your favorite medium of art? 

I would love to specialize in digital animation. I believe digital animation has a very wide range of skill expressions. I haven’t stuck to one medium since I began my animation journey. When I animate, I feel as though I am one step closer to my childhood dream. 

What is the most important thing in your artistic process?  

The planning, the storyboarding. I believe that if you don't have proper planning, you are going to be lost in the process, and it can cause your art to suffer or make you need to rethink your art at some point. It's very important, something that people don't really pay attention to, but I do because it’s cool.  

How has storyboarding improved your art? 

Storyboarding has allowed me to mindfully create multiple projects without sustaining substantial burnout. When you plan out your pieces beforehand, you have something to fall back on when you experience confusion and art block. 

For Caleb, storyboarding is a routine during his artistic process. Photo by Ace Walker

How has your culture and background shaped your art and the way you see it? 

I believe growing up in a black home has affected aspects of art. My family, specifically my mother, has supported my artistic talents and creativity. I believe my culture has positively influenced my art.

What inspired you to continue pursuing art in your high school years? 

I just pinpointed in high school, but in general, I used to watch a lot of artists like David Finch, Kim Jongy, Ryan Benjamin, they’re really good, like comic book artists and I saw that and I was like I wanted to do that. I want to be like them when I get older. 

How has school impacted your art? 

I guess I’ve started to develop an eye for technique in art. And the more technical side of it. 

Caleb and his friend Giacomo critiquing art. Photo by Ace Walker. 

Are you planning to go to college and if so, are you going to do your art? 

I will hopefully be going to college and yes, for visual art. 

Are there any limitations that you have struggled to overcome and if so, how would you overcome those limitations?  

For limitations, I would say burnout. Dealing with burnout or loss of creativity. Sometimes there will be days where I can draw whatever I want, and there will be days where I can’t draw whatever I want, and days I can’t draw a thing, and it makes me sad. Number one thing you have got to learn is to understand that will always happen, and you have to learn how to maneuver around it, how to persevere.  

What is your personal advice for people in art or getting burnout? 

Personally, I just go back to the basics. A lot of people start with simple shapes, turning them into 3D objects. In my opinion, if you can’t make a square or a cube interesting, that’s when you need to go and understand basic forms, values, and shapes. So, when I’m burnt out on whatever it is I’m drawing, I go back, watch some of my favorite YouTubers and start from the beginning, as if I’m learning art again. 

Is there anything you would say to your younger self? 

Failure is part of the process; you can only get better if you fall. It only goes up from here. 

(He fades into the distance ominously)