Sharpie in hand, mind running fast, Madeleine Vollmer quickly thinks of a design to etch onto her friend’s arm while they wait for their turn at the local summer swim meet. A simple task young Vollmer used to pass time has grown into a passion.

The Shady Hollow Stingrays are a local swim team which has a large membership with varying levels of experience. The team’s current design for their temporary tattoos was created by Vollmer, who has been a swimmer on the team for over 14 years and is now a junior coach.

“I started designing tattoos during my summer job, after freshman year,” Vollmer said. “I drew a flower on one of my coaches once and after that moment I’ve drawn on at least 40 people at every swim meet.”

From a young age, Vollmer has had a passion for art and it has evolved as she has grown up. According to her father, Andrew Vollmer, Madeleine’s early talent and unique way of looking at the world were not left unnoticed.

“Madeleine began expressing herself through drawings and painting at a very early age, around three years old,” Andrew said. “Even her early drawings were typically advanced for her age and she had a different way of looking at the world.”

Bowie has a plethora of art classes available for students, and Madeleine has utilized them to improve her technique and develop her personal style during her time here at Bowie. Art teacher Mindy Le Jeune teaches varying levels of art classes and has been Madeleine’s teacher for the past two years.

“She was quiet at the start, but then her personality really started to shine in class,” Le Jeune said. “It reflected in her artwork too, and she wasn’t afraid to try new styles or explore different techniques.”

As Madeleine’s style became more personalized and her confidence grew in sharing her art. A friend, senior Xander Pratt also noticed and approached Madeleine about having her design a tattoo for him. 

“It meant a lot to me that someone trusted me to design their tattoo,” Madeleine said. “Because I believe a tattoo is an extension of someone, their experiences, and their beliefs.”

Pratt and Madeleine have been friends for many years, and after seeing her art, Pratt knew she was the only one he trusted to design a tattoo with so much personal meaning.

“When I saw the style that she used with all sorts of different designs and colors, I was really impressed,” Pratt said. “I knew that I needed her to design my tattoo.”

The process of designing a tattoo and working with a client is extremely important, as the product is intended to be satisfactory to them. A lot of time and work is put into the designing process, with the designer listening intently.

“Most of the time I design a rough draft on paper and then transfer it onto my iPad so I can trace it and make sure it is symmetrical,” Madeleine said. “I would create multiple rough drafts and then send them over to Xander, he would explain what he wanted changed and what he loved. I would take his critiques and make new versions of the design, we would go back and forth like this about five times until we created something he was happy with.”

Madeleine enjoys doing art with friends, especially her art buddies, seniors Sophia De Kruyff and Luke Johnson. Madeleine says the three love to create art together and see how each other’s styles are developing. With their long lasting friendship, they are able to treat each other as a stable support group.

“Madeleine is an amazing person, she is really thoughtful, talkative, and obviously very artistic,” De Kruyff said. “When any kind of creative project comes along she blows it out of the park and I can recognize any of her art instantly because of the amount of detail she puts into her work.”

Madeleine speaks very highly of her parents and the support they have given her, even with the knowledge that her interests are not traditionally well paying or stable.

“We really love the strong independent young lady that Madeleine is becoming,” Andrew said. “Madeleine’s mother and I both decided very early we really wanted to provide the love and support for our kids to be themselves. This doesn’t mean most high paying jobs, to us this means finding a path where you are happy and fulfilled beyond monetary goals.”

With the support of her parents, Madeleine has tried many different forms of art and is extremely grateful to the opportunities they have offered her.

“I love creating art for people,” Madeleine said. “In some way it’s how I give back to the people who mean a lot to me and have always supported my artistic passion.”

As senior year rushes by, Madeleine is planning out where she wants to go for college and whether or not art will be active in her future. Currently she is creating a website for her work and has been collecting art for the many portfolio requirements going into college applications.

“I want to use my website for a blog style kind of process, and maybe eventually sell my artwork,” Madeleine said. “But in college I might focus on marketing, art directing, or graphic design.”

While trying to decide what major to choose, Madeleine struggles with the reality of expenses of living and the competitive art industry. She, like many artists, wishes she could follow her passions without the weight of the world holding her back.

“I would create artwork for free forever,” Madeleine said. “But sadly, there will always be bills to pay and art supplies to buy.”

But even as Madeleine has grown, her style has changed, and she has been faced with making decisions about the rest of her future. Madeleine also recognizes her accomplishments, like designing a tattoo for her friend and successfully starting her own website; and it has been those moments that remind her why she does art.

“When I draw something I try to look past the ground level value of it and think of what that thing embodies,” Madeleine said. “That is what I’m really passionate about, getting into that playful head-space and letting the embodiment of things come onto  the page.”

This story was originally published on The Dispatch on December 4, 2024.