Note: This is the first installment of Rachel Skoza's series of profiles and interviews focusing on student artists at Uni High. Look for more throughout the spring semester. Click here for an audio slideshow that accompanies this article.

THERE ARE MANY talented artists wandering Uni's halls, one of whom is junior Joy Shapley.

Shapley draws cartoons as a refreshing relief from everyday life. She has been interested in cartooning for some time now, and two years ago she created a series for the Online Gargoyle called “Kerfluffle,” which she continued through the middle of her sophomore year. She has also taught Agora Days classes on how to draw comic strips.

Joy Shapley's "Kerfluffle": Uni clubs (click to enlarge)

Joy Shapley's "Kerfluffle": Uni siblings (click to enlarge)

Joy Shapley's "Kerfluffle": Computer Literacy class (click to enlarge)

Having exhausted the boundaries of Studio Art I and II last year, Shapley still doodles in her notebooks and comes up with some good cartoons every now and then.

Some of her favorites are compiled in this audio slideshow, in which she provides the commentary.

Having taught Shapley, art instructor Lisa Evans has experienced what she calls the young artist's “unique sense of style and dry sense of humor.”

“Joy has a gift for line and an eye for simplification of form,” Evans says. “Just some of the possibilities for Joy in the art world might be a cartoonist, an illustrator, a graphic artist, an animator, a Web designer, or a fine artist.”

Career options like these are not impossible for Uni students. This happened to 1986 Uni alum Nina Paley, who has proved that cartooning can indeed be a legitimate career. Next month, Paley intends to release her first animated movie, “Sita Sings the Blues.”

At this point, Shapley does not plan on a career in art, but she nevertheless finds time to draw when she's not studying or playing sports. (Girls basketball season ended last week, and soccer will be coming up soon.)

Read on to learn more about the creator of “Kerfluffle” — and be sure to check out some of her work on this page and in the slideshow.

What are you influenced by?
I read a lot of online Webcomics, like “Questionable Content,” “VGCats,” and “XKCD.” Newspaper comics have never really appealed to me.

How long have you been creating cartoons?
I've been doodling in class for years, but I actually started scanning them about two years ago.

Are you interested in any other forms of art?
Meh. Painting's OK, but modern art is pretty lame.

Are you involved in any art outside of Uni?
I did a poster for a contest once … don't think that counts, really. I've been meaning to set up some sort of deviantArt site, but haven't gotten around to it.

You used to do a comic strip for the Gargoyle. Where'd it go?
Blame loss of inspiration, homework, and wanting to try drawing something more serious.

Would you consider yourself a math/science person, or an artsy person?
I really don't like math and science, but I wouldn't label myself as an “artsy person.” The sorts of classes that are my favorite are history and language classes.

In the Uni community, do you find it difficult to be creative in a non-liberal arts environment?
Uni may be a non-liberal arts environment, but lots of people here like liberal arts. Uni's general setup is also very creative. I mean, what other schools have handprints on the walls of the lounge or “Dress Ugly Day”? So no, not particularly difficult.

What do you want to major in college, and are you looking into furthering your art career?
I'd like to major in linguistics. Art is fun, but I don't really think I'd like to make a career out of it. It's more fun to do stuff like that on your own time than because your art professor said to do it.

Do you have any favorite artists?
Salvador Dali, Picasso, and the guy who makes “art” by putting old shoes on a table and calling them “Untitled.” Incredibly deep, that stuff is.

What are your main interests and hobbies? When you're bored, what do you do to pass the time?
I'd rather be active, but when the weather is too bad to run around, I'll either read Webcomics online or draw. I like flipping through random magazines, drawing caricatures of people in them, and adding captions.