On the Scene is the Iowa State Daily’s weekly series that profiles local personalities who are making a difference in the arts and entertainment community.

Helene J. Kaplan is an Ames artist whose piece titled “Ellis Island” was recently accepted in Encountering the Second Commandment, a juried international art competition at the American Jewish Museum in Pittsburgh, Penn.

JM: How did you first get into art?

HK: I always enjoyed art. I studied art in high school in New York City and then went on to college and took some art courses. But it was in graduate school that I seriously studied art and education.

After that I taught school for a while. I went on to teach art at a community college. After living and working in art in Michigan and New Jersey, I came to Iowa where I worked at The Octagon Center for the Arts. I have curated, directed and budgeted art, and did everything but actually have the time “to do” art.

But I did try to keep my hands in it a little at a time. It was only in 1996 that I decided I was going to devote myself full time [to art].

JM: Where did you grow up?

HK: I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and I went through the school system there.

I actually grew up in Coney Island which has three miles of beach, three miles of park and then there is the amusement park area.

It was just a wonderful place to grow up . I’ve been here [in Iowa] for 20 years, so I consider this my home.

JM: How does it feel to have your work, “Ellis Island,” selected for the “Encountering the Second Commandment” competition from among so many entries?

HK: I was shocked, I was really surprised … I just decided I was going to enter an art piece of mine … never even thinking that it would get in.

I knew it was a tough competition as there were 1,327 entries from 417 artists from 25 countries trying to get into this show. So out of 1,327 entries, only 64 got in and only 43 artists from 8 countries are represented. That’s pretty good.

JM: What was your inspiration for “Ellis Island”?

HK: My maternal grandmother and her parents and siblings entered Ellis Island sometime in the 1890s.

There were many problems in Russia. My inspiration is really the thought of the journey they must have taken, and as young children, how they must have felt as they approached this place.

In this piece, you are looking from the ship. The ocean waves are pounding and their hearts are pounding.

I tried to imagine what the family was feeling during this journey into a new world.

JM: Where around Ames can pieces of your work be found?

HK: Well, I have work at The Octagon Center for the Arts, in their gift shop. I have had some work that I might put back into the Big Table Books. I do sell from my studio here in Ames. I guess that’s about it here, but I am expanding.

JM: What advice do you have for aspiring artists trying to find their artistic voice?

HK: That’s an interesting question because if you ask a writer what they would say, they would say `read a lot.’ If you ask an artist, I would be honest that [being an artist is] difficult. You have to just make a living from selling your artwork.

But I would say that, even though it’s a difficult occupation, if that is something that you love, go for it. Study other artists, read books on art and practice.

Even if your parents tell you, “You’re not going to make any money, don’t do it, become an engineer, become an actuary,” you are really not going to be happy unless you follow what you love.