Artist of the Week: Allison ‘Allie’ Wolf

Allie Wolf, a sophomore at Warwick Valley High School, has been crafting, building, and drawing since she could hold a pair of safety scissors. Her journey as an artist began not in a classroom, but at home, where her family encouraged her creativity and afforded her the space to explore.

“I found my love for art when I was really little,” said Allie, whose creativity has always been hands-on. Her earliest memories are of projects with her father, who runs a local auto shop and is always building or fixing something.

“I’d be in the shop and go into the recycling pile, and I would just make anything out of everything,” she laughed. “Three-year-old me, sitting on the ground with safety scissors and duct tape.”

In addition to shaping her creativity, her dad’s shop — 2 The 9’s Auto — has given Allie a unique direction for her future. She spends many afternoons at the shop, learning the ropes and preparing for the day when she’ll begin “officially” working there. Allie enjoys her unique daily experience of hands-on work, design and problem-solving.

Her goal is to follow in her father’s footsteps, bringing both technical skills and a creative eye to the business he built.

“He started it from the ground up by himself, and all the art stuff can really be [applied] in there too,” she pointed out. “Drawing things out, being able to explain things, all of it, it just makes it a lot easier knowing all these things when I watch him work.”

Her love for art continued throughout elementary and middle school

Allie’s art picked up speed at Park Avenue Elementary and continued to build through middle school, where she discovered her love for pottery, ceramics, pastels, and ink. She still treasures the pieces she created during those years, which remind her of her artistic growth and family support.

“I still have all my projects. They’re hanging in my house, hanging in my grandparents’ house. They’re all great memories,” she smiled. “And in middle school, I did more pottery. Ceramics, drawings, painting, all that stuff.”

Taking advantage of Warwick Valley High School’s creative opportunities

High school brought even greater opportunities for creative independence. Allie found that Warwick Valley’s curriculum affords student artists invaluable opportunities to express their individuality.

“There was so much more freedom when I got here,” Allie explained. “When we’re younger, [the approach is] ‘here’s an animal, now let’s draw a picture of it.’ That was fun, but the art classes here are different; you get to put more of ‘you’ into the work.”

Nicole Sisco, a Warwick Valley High School art teacher and club advisor, recalls recognizing Allie’s exceptional motivation and talent from day one. Allie was referred to Sisco’s honors freshman art class, Foundations In Art.

“I knew right away that she was one of my overachievers! She was inquisitive, dedicated, and always willing to work beyond the allotted class time to push her artwork beyond the lesson objectives,” Sisco said, commending Allie’s eagerness to go beyond lesson objectives and dedicate extra time to her artwork.

Last year, Allie was selected to participate in the “Once Upon a Child” project, where she illustrated the story “Terry’s Homework” using Procreate software. Her dinosaur character delighted the audience and demonstrated her initiative and creativity.

Throughout her freshman year, Allie continued to explore illustration. One of her paintings, depicting some anthropomorphic excavation vehicles, has a very Pixar-at-the-quarry vibe.

Finding inspiration in different places

These days, Allie finds herself continually inspired by her new favorite subject, her horse Emmy. She’s been an equestrian for as long as she’s been sculpting on the garage floor and has ridden and volunteered at Winslow Therapeutic Riding Center, where her mom works. She participates in equestrian competitions and charity rides for local causes.

Allie is also a proud member of the Warwick Valley High School FFA, where she uses her artistic skills to help support club activities.

“FFA, I love it; it’s such a great club. All the people are nice, and it’s another place where you learn so many different things,” Allie said. “And it’s another thing art helps me with, because I can design [event] flyers and stuff like that.”

Applying art skills in different areas

She’s also found the skills she’s developed in visual thinking helpful in the engineering classes she’s been taking, which also figure into her future aspirations.

“I took engineering last year, and now I’m taking advanced AutoCAD,” Allie said. “Like I said, I grew up with a dad who’s a mechanic. Yeah, I’m going to take over that business when I graduate high school!”

Allie sees the Warwick art program as more than just a place to make art—the classes have also helped her build foundational life skills.

“They teach you collaboration, problem-solving, and all sorts of things,” she said. “With all the different kinds of art programs Warwick has, you could really go anywhere with it.”