最新杏吧原创

Jeliti said it was on a whim that he decided to enter, allowing his talent and creativity to be judged against that of college art students from across the region.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 hurt to try,鈥� Jeliti remembered thinking. 鈥淚鈥檒l see if I can make it.鈥�

Over the next several weeks, Jeliti, a , set out to create a collection of new pieces to add to his portfolio, and he turned it all in ahead of the competition鈥檚 March 1 deadline. Then the wait began.

Jeliti said applicants were told the winners would be announced on or around March 21. His hopes had started to grow during the application process, so he described the 20-day wait as 鈥渁gonizing.鈥� But it was nothing compared to when March 21 came and went with no news 鈥� positive or negative 鈥� about the scholarship.

But just when Jeliti gave up on the idea of getting it, he received an email while at work the next day notifying him he鈥檇 been selected 鈥� along with students from Maryville University, 最新杏吧原创 Community College and Saint Louis University.

鈥淚 called my parents immediately,鈥� Jeliti said. 鈥淚 honestly just couldn鈥檛 believe it.鈥�

With the scholarship came the a week later at the at in Manchester, Missouri.

But the biggest thing Jeliti received was validation 鈥� validation that he鈥檇 made the right decision when he first decided to pursue art as more than a hobby back when he was 18 and nearing graduation from .

He鈥檇 always had an affinity for drawing and would often doodle random shapes and figures growing up. He was also passionate about horror and fantasy video games, in part because of their artistic quality.

鈥淚 had a talk with my dad where he was like, 鈥極K, what are you going to do? What do you want to do?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎t the time, I was buying all these art books and getting into these illustrations that other people made. I was just like, 鈥業 want to be able to do that someday.鈥欌��

With artists such as John Devlin serving as his inspiration, Jeliti decided to enroll at and found his way into the . He quickly developed an affection for screen printing.

鈥淚 always kind of thought it was like magic, because it didn鈥檛 really make sense to me whenever I saw it in person,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he more I did it, it was just really fun. I just liked playing with it, because you can get a bunch of different variations of one image. Depending how you ink something, what colors you use or how you layer things, you can just completely change the mood of an image that already kind of exists.鈥�

Jeliti finished his associate degree in 2020, amid the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was not eager to continue with online education, so he opted to take a break from school. Over the next three years, he worked a series of jobs, including a stint as a museum attendant at the , but they often weren鈥檛 fulfilling.

By 2024, he was ready to return to the classroom and chose to enroll at UMSL. He said he was originally drawn to it because of the affordable tuition but quickly found a friendly and encouraging environment in the similar to the one he鈥檇 enjoyed at STLCC.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been very welcoming,鈥� Jeliti said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been really nice. I think it was hard at first to kind of get back in the rhythm of schooling after not doing it for so long, but all my teachers there in the art department have been great. They鈥檝e all been really supportive.鈥�

He鈥檚 also appreciated the breadth of different techniques and mediums that he鈥檚 been exposed to, including a 3D modeling course taught by Assistant Professor or an etching course taught by Professor .

鈥淚 think the class variety here is really good,鈥� Jeliti said. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking Jodi鈥檚 illustration class, and I think there鈥檚 just so many different classes I could take that fit a specific niche. The first class I took here at UMSL was game design, which was something I didn鈥檛 think they would have, and it was a great class.鈥�

He鈥檚 made an impression on his professors.

鈥淛acob has always stood out to me because he鈥檚 really driven to grow as a professional artist, especially in 3D,鈥� Kolpakov said. 鈥淗e consistently goes above and beyond to create polished, professional work, and he takes feedback incredibly well. He鈥檚 thoughtful, detail-oriented and always pushing himself to improve.鈥�

Game design remains the area in which Jeliti would like to eventually work in the future. He has collected more than 100 pages of material in a Word document about a horror game he hopes to one day create.

鈥淭he whole reason I wanted to learn art was to make my own video games,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ventually, I鈥檓 going to be doing that.鈥�

At the moment, he鈥檚 more focused on developing his artistic skills than he is diving into coding and the digital aspects of game design. He鈥檚 on track to graduate next spring and hasn鈥檛 ruled out pursuing a master鈥檚 in fine arts after graduation.

The GSLA鈥檚 Art Merit Scholarship will help him continue his training by helping with the cost of his tuition as well as basic supplies like paper so he can create his work. He鈥檚 excited to keep doing so alongside his classmates and instructors at UMSL.

鈥淚 think what I really missed the last couple years was having a community space where I can make stuff and talk to other people,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just think about 10 years ago, when I didn鈥檛 have any experience at all, and even two years ago, when I was working jobs that I hated. Now I鈥檓 in school, and I鈥檓 doing things that I like, and people are even paying me money to do it. It鈥檚 really nice. I just can鈥檛 believe it.鈥�