For long as she can remember, Jessica Johnson has been determined and driven to succeed.
As a child, Johnson was envious of her grandmother, a painter, when they drew together. "Her drawings were all so nice," the senior said.
But instead of letting her frustration with art deter her from drawing, Johnson decided to hone her skills and continue to pursue drawing and painting. During her school years, her work ethic led her to an interest in the sciences. Yet she never gave up on art. Because her dedication to biology prevented her from attending an art school, Johnson taught herself how to draw by copying Disney movie characters.
Her hard work continues to this day, her professor and advisor Peter Lasch said, describing Johnson as "an outstanding student-very mature and talented."
Balancing a biology major and an art minor is not easy, but Johnson finds ways to combine her two passions. Her senior project is a reflection of her dual areas of study at Duke. "I was able to incorporate biology and science into art," Johnson said, explaining that she used anatomical drawings and diagrams that express her fascination with the human body. Her senior exhibition will also feature an installation of a paper-maché heart, brain and fibers in a huge cubic parallelogram-the perfect fusion of her two passions.
"I like using brains and hearts-I like the dichotomy between the two," she says.
The larger-than-life installation will fill the space of an entire room of the Smith Warehouse.
Just like her art, Johnson's life will continue to be dichotomized. Johnson is considering going to graduate school to study the biology of cancer but is also tempted by the possibility of drawing medical illustrations someday.
Wherever post-graduate life takes her, Johnson will, as Lasch put it, have "a very prominent future if she decides to become an artist."
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