Prolific East-side teen has an eye for art

East-sider Jama Clayton has found that painting and drawing human portraits brings her joy and helps her explore her African-American heritage.

Jama, 17, lives with her mother, Vicki Clayton. The busy teen checks her worries at the door when she picks up a sketch pad.

"Drawing calms me down and gives me time to think," she said. "I love drawing people. I like it if the eyes can draw you in."

Jama's home is practically bursting with her art - paintings and drawings that depict herself and her family, particularly female role models such as her mother. Jama, who will be a senior at East in the fall, said she likes concentrating on African-American culture because it represents a personal interest.

"I like (my art) to be personal. I want someone to look at it and think about it," she said.

Jama has created so much art - about 60 drawings and paintings during the last school year that she astounds teachers and fellow classmates alike, said her former art teacher, Shirley Gooch, who retired this year from East High School.

Gooch, who taught art for 27 years, has high hopes for Jama and praises her for her hard work.

"She is very productive," Gooch said. "What sets her apart is she has such an incredible work ethic. When she gets an idea, she's not distracted by her surroundings. She puts her mind to her work and she amazes all the kids around her. I called her an art-making machine. She produces so much high quality work."

Gooch said she and Jama "hit it off from the beginning."

Jama took her first drawing and painting class from Gooch when she was a sophomore. This past school year, she took an advanced placement class with Gooch to earn college credit.

"That really challenged her," Gooch said. "She was totally in her element."

Gooch praised Jama for focusing on African-American culture for her AP class work.
"I love it that she chose something so dear to her heart," she said. "They are required to complete 12 finished artworks, and Jama finished 32. I told her, 'You will do magnificently in college.' She is motivated, does the sketchbook work; she is very driven."

When she's not making art, Jama spends time singing in the choir and serving as an usher at Mount Olive Baptist Church, where she also cleans on Saturdays. She's a member of her school swim team and the local chapter of the NAACP, for which she's done some volunteer work.

She hopes to attend either Grand View University or Iowa State University, where she'll take art and education classes. She said Gooch has inspired her to be an art teacher."At first I was just drawing to draw," Jama said. "But in 10th grade I really started to like art. When I got into it, I didn't want to stop."