Portrait of a Young Artist

By Tabitha Ervin
Of Fort Wayne Ink Spot

Harmony Washington is a 10-year-old artist who attends Towles Montessori, who recently received the Mayor’s Award for an art piece that her Art teacher submitted into a local contest.

“She has notebooks full of drawings,” said her grandmother, Denita Washington, “and her parents and I don’t mind spending our money on her art”.

An honor roll student with a passion for learning, Harmony said she started to enjoy art when she was about 5. She cites her growth during lessons with local fine artist Mike Johnson of Concept.Seven Art Lounge. She was nervous at first, but she overcame her apprehension as she worked on her artistic skills with her classmates. According to Denita, Harmony’s self-esteem has grown over the years as she’s been doing more art because “she knows she’s good at it.”

I recently spoke with Harmony via Zoom:

Tabitha: What do you like about art?

Harmony: I like to draw people and faces; I like my drawings to be realistic. I also love drawing anime. The characters in anime are cartoons but mature.

Tabitha: Tell me about the piece that won an award?

Harmony: I drew that in Indy over the weekend as I was looking on Pinterest and took it to school and showed it to my teacher and she submitted it for the contest. I didn’t know.

Tabitha: What are some of your future goals?

Harmony: I want to go to art school and own an art gallery one day. I also like basketball and writing. I would also be interested in being the first female president or CEO of a business.