Even in Santa Fe, one of the most art-oriented cities in the U.S., it's hard to find an individual who is as gifted and as passionate about the arts as 17-year-old Grant MacAllister. At first glance, he seems like your average Santa Fe teen: band T-shirt and bandana topped off with a laid-back attitude. Once you get underneath the surface, though, there's nothing average about him.

As a senior at Monte del Sol, Grant is only taking two classes: government and photography, but is taking an incredible 18 hours at the Santa Fe Community College. Among others, he is taking video production, writing for mass media and photography classes and is working toward an associate's degree in applied sciences with a focus on media arts and film.

Through his video-production class, Grant has written, directed, and produced several short films. His current project properly titled "Final Cut" tells the story of a man who can change the events in his own life through the editing of his movie, therefore making his life his own 'final cut'. The movie's interesting plot was written by Grant but adapted from an original piece by his brother.

"I'm making it for the Mentorship Festival, but hopefully it will be entered into the Santa Fe Film Festival this year," Grant said.

He is not only interested in moving pictures, but film photography as well.

"I first got into film when Liam Lockhart, a teacher of mine at SFCC, introduced me to it about two years ago," Grant said. "He was a huge inspiration and really pushed me to pursue film."

Grant's latest photography adventure is infrared photography. This style lets in light from the infrared spectrum that is not visible to the eye and creates an almost dreamlike effect.

"There's a lot of guessing when it comes to adjusting the camera to catch the image but when you get it right it turns out really well," Grant said.

Grant also works with Meow Wolf, an art collective and music venue in Santa Fe, and just recently completed a large mural in its building.

"It's a scene of dead trees on a giant metal wall," said Grant who created it for Meow Wolf's opening of Indoor Winter Activities on Feb. 13.

By far the most interesting skill of Grant's is his most obscure.

"I play the saw," he said with a laugh. "I really got interested in it after I saw a friend of mine playing it and I've been playing ever since. You just take a violin bow and use it on the non-blade part of the saw as if it were a violin," Grant said. "It makes a really cool eerie sound and works really well."

On top of all that, Grant also works on the Warehouse 21 Board of Planners.

"We basically meet and all pitch in ideas for events that teens would like," Grant said. "I also recently applied for a spot on the Mayor's Youth Advisory Board where I could give my input on teen issues in Santa Fe."

And he's fluent in Spanish.

"Well, nearly fluent," Grant said with a laugh. "I studied it for three years in high school and at SFCC and then about two summers ago I did an immersion program for three weeks in Guatemala so I've got a pretty good understanding of the language."

So what's in the future for this new-age Renaissance teen?

"I'll probably continue taking classes at SFCC and hopefully I'll move on to Columbia College of Art in Chicago," Grant said. "Eventually I'd like to get into the film industry as a director."



Mara Dauber is a junior at Santa Fe High. You can reach her at mara.rose_d@yahoo.com