Whiz Kid Jeremy Gipson: Is Pixar in His Future?

• Name: Jeremy Gipson, 13
• School/Church: , 7^th grade; member of Calvary Moravian Church, Allentown
• Greatest Accomplishment: Receiving a 2011 National Gold Scholastic Art Award from the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers (AYAW) for his sculpture “Night Crossing.” The piece, made entirely of toothpicks, was one of 185,000 artworks submitted to the regional scholastic art competition by more than 90,000 students. The top regional works ---more than 9,000 pieces --- from the entire country received Gold Key recognition and were then considered for national awards. “Night Crossing” is one of the 1,500 selected works to receive a Gold Medal. Jeremy will be recognized during an awards ceremony May 31 at Carnegie Hall in New York City, where he will join the list of other young artists' alumni, including such notables as Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon and Robert Redford.
• Key to awesomeness: His enthusiasm for art, whether visual or performing. From early childhood, his creative vent has always been towards the arts, working as a youngster with simple supplies such as crayons, markers and paper, then mastering his computer’s design-based programs. But his love of art reaches beyond the visual: he’s a member of the Cherub Choir and the contemporary band at church, and he has spent several years at the Easton-based Lehigh Valley School of Rock (SOR), where he was, among other things, the lead vocalist and piano player when the school gave a performance based on music by The Who.  (His looks have earned him the distinction of being compared to Who lead vocalist Roger Daltry). Other seasons with SOR found him performing “corporate rock,” music by groups including Blue Oyster Cult, Billy Squire and Joe Walsh, and songs made famous by British rock band Queen.
•  As for his ability to create, parents Gary and Linda (both artists in their own right: Gary is a Web designer, Linda a graphics designer) say they are amazed at the way Jeremy can look at something, then reconstruct it. “The first time he rode Steel Force (at )," says Gary, "he came home and raided the recycling bin, using cereal and pizza boxes to build the coaster, re-creating it to the nth degree. We just marvel at him because these are things he does to occupy his time.” Jeremy also has garnered other art awards, including a first-place award last year for a video he produced, and in elementary school for a work he made for the PTA Reflections Program.  When he’s not creating art or performing music, Jeremy is a member of the Parkland Middle School ice hockey team. He enjoys skateboarding, hanging out with friends and drawing, especially doodles. His dream is to become a Pixar artist, because, he says, “everything they do touches you.”

Editor's note: Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree.

Each week, Upper Macungie Patch seeks suggestions from readers for individual  kids, youth groups, teens, and sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing young people and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to Tom De Martini at thomas.demartini@patch.com.