St. George’s School: Lilly Glennie designs her future through art

St. George’s School graduate Lilly Glennie brings creativity and diligence to everything she puts her mind to.

“Lilly is incredibly dedicated and incredibly kind,” said David Holte, Glennie’s history teacher. “In class, her comments and questions are always well-considered and weighed before she speaks. She’s one of those students who helps make class better for teachers and students.”

This year, Glennie was selected as a Spokane Scholar and recognized for her work in the fine arts. Along with the other students chosen, she was honored at the Spokane Scholar Foundation’s annual banquet.

“Ever since I could pick up a pencil, I’ve been drawing, designing and thinking creatively,” Glennie said. “My passion for visual arts goes further than the brush on canvas, and stems from my interest in recognizing greater nuances of visual art, such as the artist’s intent and impact on the viewer.”

Glennie is a candidate for the visual arts course in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, through which she explored several mediums of art such as colored pencil, oil pastel, acrylic, graphic design, ceramics and lino printing.

During the two-year course, Glennie has worked toward putting together her own exhibition.

“The overall idea of the show was to create artwork with the subject matter of fruit,” said Allie McBride, Glennie’s art teacher. “Her big concept was mortality and decay, and how we go to the grocery store, and we want to pick out the most perfect-looking lime.

“If there’s any bumps or bruises on it, then we just discard those. What happens to that, and why is it that our society works like that?”

Another great passion of Glennie’s is her performance in aerial acrobatics with silks.

This artform involves a fabric that is fixed overhead as the performer demonstrates acrobatic movements while hanging from it. Glennie has performed at many community events as well as a lead soloist role in “Celestia,” an aerial play at Spokane Aerial Performance Arts.

“I’ve always been fairly quiet and have had low self-confidence. However, through working on storytelling through my performances, I’ve become a more confident performer and aerialist,” Glennie said. “I’ve noticed I carry myself with more assurance than I used to.”

In addition to her heavy involvement in the arts, Glennie has also been a part of the Joya High School Advisory Board since her sophomore year.

The Joya board is a nonprofit that organizes fundraisers and provides other services to support children with disabilities and their families.

She has also worked on her school’s yearbook, designing pages and this year’s front cover.

Last summer, Glennie studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art in its graphic design program.

In the fall, Glennie will attend California Baptist University, where she plans to major in graphic design and visual experience.

As Glennie prepares to graduate in the spring, her teachers at St. George’s wish her the best in her future endeavors.

“I hope that Lily continues to be a kind, compassionate force of reason and humility,” said Jamie Billings, Glennie’s Spanish teacher. “I think she is the one of the shining examples of what we hope our students are when they graduate from here.

“She really exhibits all of the best qualities of a St. George’s grad.”