Walking into the CHS library, a finely crafted construction site, entirely made of cardboard, towers above the shelves of books. A floor below in the corner of the art studio sits the creator: quiet and focused, his clay-stained hands move quickly and carefully as they bring to life what will soon become his next masterpiece.

Senior Tyler Gillam’s sculpting abilities originated long before he reached the corner of the art studio at CHS.

“I’ve been building since I was little,” Gillam said. “I would go to Sam’s and get massive sheets of cardboard and build forts over my bed. I’d make just about anything.”

From the start, Gillam was inspired by the world around him. Nature has always been a love of Gillam’s — in fact, he currently has four snakes, two box turtles and two aquatic turtles to prove it. However, he is also influenced by the industrial world, as can be seen by his construction piece displayed in the CHS library.

Despite his innate artistic ability, Gillam did not officially begin taking art classes at CHS until his junior year because he was too busy working in the engineering department.

“I like designing and building, and engineering lets me build more of the larger projects from wood or metal,” Gillam said. “Or, I can design a part on the computer and then 3-D print it.”

Impressively enough, this late start in CHS art classes did not hinder his sculpting whatsoever. Last year, the St. Louis Artists’ Guild sponsored the Emerson 2015 Young Artists Showcase Exhibition. Over 35 schools entered the work of 354 artists, and approximately 200 pieces were selected for the exhibition. One of only twelve participants to receive an award, Tyler took home the Joanne Stremsterfer Annual Prize. That same year, Gillam also won the Richard Grimm Visual Art Award.

Laura Sher, art teacher at CHS, has worked closely with Gillam over the past two years. After taking both of the offered sculpture classes at CHS (Sculpture 1 and Sculpture 2) his junior year, Gillam and Sher met at the end of last year to decide the next step Gillam should take. The two made a consecutive decision to move Gillam beyond what is offered to independent study classes.

This semester, Gillam is enrolled in Independent Study Sculpture 3.

“We met at the beginning of the year and scoped out a couple of big projects that he would do throughout the semester,” Sher said. “He works on his studio work, and then every Monday I give him a research assignment and we conference on Fridays about that assignment. It is about Tyler learning about sculptors and art history and techniques and being exposed to more types of sculpture and materials that are out there so he can get a real sense of what the world of sculpture is like, not just at CHS.”

For Sher, teaching a sculpting student as advanced and innovative as Gillam has been a rewarding challenge.

“I will always be an artist first and a teacher second,” Sher said. “So in terms of dealing with one of my students as an artist, and not just an art student, that part has been really invigorating for me as an art teacher. I think he has a lot of innate aptitude for how artists have to think in the studio environment.”

Sher has played a major role in Gillam’s achievements by seeking out art competitions and submitting his sculptures. While these art shows and competitions serve as temporary goals for Gillam, one goal has motivated the artist since a very young age: Becoming an Eagle Scout.

“In order to become an Eagle Scout, you have to get all of the different merit badges and volunteering hours and do all of the work that comes with it,” Gillam said. “It is a lot of hard work and dedication because you have to have it done before you are 18.”

With his eighteenth birthday approaching quickly, Gillam has recently spent much of his time completing necessary components to receive the recognition.

“For the Eagle, you have to do a big final project where you go out in the community and find someone who needs something done or built,” Gillam said. “I went out to Tyson Research Center and they needed some picnic tables built, so I had to fundraise and get donations for money to be able to build the tables.”

To finally complete the project was a rewarding moment for Gillam. What made the process even more important to Gillam was being able to use his sculpting skills to help him achieve this goal.

“The art and the building helped with knowing exactly how to build [the tables] and tool safety and everything like that,” Gillam said.

Fellow engineering student and Boy Scout junior Jake Gillette believes that Gillam’s dedicated personality has helped him be successful in both his art and his work in Boy Scouts. “He’s a lot different than a lot of the people at CHS, and he’s totally fine with it,” Gillette said. “He is proud of who he is, and that is a good thing for sure. He knows what he wants to do, and he doesn’t let anyone else change that.”

Becoming an Eagle Scout is not the only way Gillam has utilized his sculpting skills. When he isn’t completing another requirement to receive his Eagle Scout recognition, Gillam spends much of his remaining time constructing motor bikes.

“Some I build from scratch, and others I buy broken and rebuild them and turn them into my own masterpieces, all the way down to the custom paint jobs,” Gillam said.

Reconstructing motor bikes challenges Gillam both as an engineer and as an artist.

“I just like the building and designing of it and making it work how you want it to work instead of just buying something,” Gillam said.

In fact, Gillam is so interested in this hobby that he wants to pursue a similar career of building custom motorcycles. “There is still art with that, and it is mechanical, too,” Gillam said.

In Sher’s eyes, Gillam is too talented to not pursue a career with an artistic perspective. Colleges already have shown significant interest in Gillam’s artwork, and Sher plans to continue helping this interest grow. “I think he has so much to contribute to the world in terms of the things that he makes,” Sher said.