OXFORD – Since the time she could hold a pencil, Brooke Tobey says becoming an artist was simply her destiny.
Growing up in a household where art was always supported, Tobey says finding her talent and working to perfect it was always encouraged.
As a sophomore in high school, Tobey said she knew she had a love for art but was unsure of her medium. After being inspired by her high school art teacher Deborah Crossman, she become a painter. Her favorite thing to paint is food, and even when she cooks, she envisions how to make the food she is working with look like art.
Tobey was awarded for her artistic as well as her academic ability throughout her high school years. By the time she was ready to graduate, she was a fine arts portfolio winner, had won first and second in the Congressional Artistic Discovery competition, was named Who’s Who among high school students, was named chairman of the school winter social event, was voted 2006 homecoming queen, and won two scholarships plus several other awards for artistic excellence.
Following graduation and after seven colleges Tobey says the decision to travel South to Savannah to the school of art and design was an easy choice. “It just fit,” she said.
Tobey says being in Georgia means she gets homesick but says she loves many other aspects of being in the South. Studying abroad is also a goal Tobey says she has in mind. She has recently applied to study for a semester in France during her sophomore year at college. Currently she is a majoring in Fine Arts Painting with a minor in Illustration.
During her first year away at college Tobey continued to make gains in her art work and strengthen her academic ability as well. Tobey explains she has worked hard to maintain her studies and was placed on the deans list for academic achievement in her first year.
Concentrating mostly on painting with oils, just recently Tobey was given the chance to be creative and express herself through fashion design too. “I have always wanted to design fashion and my latest project gave me that opportunity,” she said. Tobey said she is putting the finishing touches on the dress design she has created for Mrs. New York to wear to compete at the Mrs. America competition.
Tobey says as for future plans she is unsure of what she wants to end up doing professionally, but she says she is certain it will be in some kind of art medium. She says she is anxious to get back to school, but for now, she is taking the summer to recuperate from all of her efforts throughout her first college year.
Editor’s Note: People in the Chenango community perform extraordinary feats under extraordinary circumstances every day. Oftentimes they go unnoticed or unappreciated; “Chenango Stories” puts the spotlight on those people whose compelling stories you might not otherwise hear. If you know someone who is interested in telling their “Chenango Story,” contact Jill Osterhout at 337-3075 or e-mail: josterhout@evesun.com.