Mimi Hochkeppel’s interest in art began when she was a kid and loved dragons, especially the book Dragonology. When she began to draw dragons and improve her skills, she came to a realization.

“I realized this is something I could do for life. I could get better at art, I could do it for money, and so I just learned more stuff about art, and now I’m here,” said Hochkeppel. 

In her art, Hochkeppel mainly focuses on digital illustration; she creates art on her MacBook and a tablet that is attached. She plans to pursue illustration as her career, possibly creating book covers or entering the video game industry.

In AP Art, each student completes a Sustained Investigation, and Hochkeppel’s focus is on dreams, exploring scenes from her dreams as well as the feelings associated with those dreams.

“Well, I have very intricate and detailed dreams with very strange visuals, and I usually like to write them down and record them. Now I have all that material with nothing else to do with it, so I might as well draw it,” said Hochkeppel.

Each AP Artist spends much time outside of class working on art. However, for Hochkeppel this work is different from regular homework.

“I would say that for me, art doesn’t exactly feel like work, it just feels like it’s a part of me,” she said. “But I think it is definitely a class that teaches me how to prioritize, and it does that with all the assignments in Art, especially AP Art”

One of Hochkeppel’s favorite aspects of AP Art is being connected to people who are also serious about art. “It’s been really great to see them, see their journey, see how they’re doing, see where they’re going, and realize that the way that I think is also how a bunch of other artists think. That’s really nice,” she said.

One piece in particular that she is proud of is of a mantis shrimp that also combines her like for Victorian bustle fashion.

“I just think it looks really nice,” said Hochkeppel. “I love clutter. . .I think it’s really maximalist, and I love that.”

Another piece Hochkeppel did that she really likes is one of a skull that she painted digitally. “The teeth—they were so annoying, but I’m so proud of them,” she said.

One of the reasons that Hochkeppel enjoys art is because it allows her to share ideas with others. She said, “There’s a lot of cool ideas for stuff stuck in my head, and I like to put that out there and get other people to see it.”