Rising Star Award winner credits International Baccalaureate program for her growth as an artist

By RANDY CAPPS

Anyone who’s changed schools knows how difficult it can be. But for Courtney Lassiter, transferring to Smithfield-Selma for the International Baccalaureate program turned out to be a positive.

So much so that she’s been named the 2022 Johnston Now Honors Rising Star Award winner.

“The IB program was a complete blessing,” she said. “I’m so thankful for all of the opportunities that I’ve been able to get through the program. I don’t know if I would have had as many opportunities (without it). It wasn’t even something that I knew about until eighth grade, but then I just decided that this was the direction I needed to go. It was kind of tough leaving all my friends and everyone I had known to that point, but when I came to Smithfield-Selma, I immediately found new friends. I’m so thankful and if I didn’t have the support of the IB program behind me, I don’t think I’d be sitting here today.”

As part of the IB program, Lassiter has hit her stride as an artist. She recently completed a mural for the SSS cafeteria, won the 2022 7th Congressional District Art Competition with a painting called “Blue Ridge” and has had pieces on display in Fuquay-Varina, Atlanta and Massachusetts.

“Congratulations to Courtney on being this year’s winner of the Congressional Art Competition,” Rep. David Rouzer said in a press release. “I’m very proud her talent will be showcased in the U.S. Capitol where visitors from around the country will be able to view her artwork alongside the others from congressional districts nationwide.”

In addition to her visual arts abilities, she also won first place in the Early College Academy’s Poetry Out Loud competition and second place in the Original Poem category.

“I’ve drawn my whole life, but I only got serious about it in sixth grade,” she said. “I started out wanting to be a computer programmer, but over the course of my life that’s gradually changed to wanting to be a gallery artist. I have a lot of stuff going on lately. Because I put in the work to get myself out there. I really feel like that’s coming back to me now.”

Like any artist, Lassiter has plenty of peers who inspire her work.

“When I was first getting into high school and I had one of my first nice Honors Art classes, I did a lot of research into Georgia O’Keefe’s work,” she said. “I really loved her stuff, and I definitely take a little bit of influence from her in my nature paintings, like the one that won the Congressional Art Competition. It was a painting of a white-tailed deer to represent the theme of North Carolina. A lot of the work that I do, I’m inspired by horror artists. There’s one in particular, he’s a manga (comic/graphic novels) artist from Japan named Junji Ito. He’s a big inspiration of mine who draws and illustrates manga.”

Considering that O’Keefe’s “Jimison Weed/ White Flower No. 1” sold for about $44 million in 2014, there’s money to be made as a gallery artist. Still, Lassiter has a plan B that includes a career in graphic design.

“I think that’s something that’s still enough in the realm of art that it would give me the freedom to enjoy my career,” she said. “Since I’ve been young, I’ve always said that I’d rather make less money in a job that I love than make more money and hate it.” She’s ambitious in her college aspirations as well. “My preferred choice right now is actually Duke,” she said. “I really hope that I’m able to get in. I know it’s an extremely selective college, but it’s also very prestigious. My second choice is probably N.C. State, because they have a really good art program.”

Lassiter lives in Four Oaks with her mother, Suzie, father, Anthony, and her brother, Riley. You can see her work at courtneylassiterart. wixsite.com/portfolio or check out her online business, Courtney’s Tears, at jewelrydepop.com/courtneystears.