I will always remember when my love for art began.  I was in my second grade math class watching the girl next to me doodle wolves and dogs all over her paper. This girl would become my best friend from second grade through ninth. After a few minutes of watching her doodle, I decided to try it myself. I hated it and found that I was not nearly as good as the girl next to me. So, I stopped and went back to working on my math. Later, at recess my best friend brought me over to the same girl and introduced us, thinking we would be a great match for one another. The girl told me she had seen me doodling and loved "my style." It was then that I decided that I loved art and I loved having a unique style. Art helped me through my first baby sister's miscarriage and my depression. It gave me a way to communicate emotions without the use of words. 

​

I like drawing women in nature because nature is where I feel I can be myself. Usually I find myself sitting in a natural setting for hours with a sense of sadness I feel unable to express around other people. I show my feelings through the expressions of the women I draw. I like to think viewers can relate to or at least be struck by their expressions. Underwater settings are also a common theme in my pieces. I use these underwater settings because sometimes life can be overwhelming and it can feel like you're drowning. But the fish add a feeling of serenity and balance to the piece. The silence of being underwater can be meditative and balancing. The women I draw ultimately express my feelings and emotions while I draw the piece. Most of my pieces are of Asian women. This is important to my background. My grandmother, who is Japanese, is an important part of my life. The Asian women in my pieces are how I express the importance of family and heritage to me, personally. 

The most important tool to my work is my unique style. I think having a unique style really helps in catching attention and adding a level of curiosity to my pieces. It also allows me to make something that is truly unique to me and is my own. I learned to express my style and I was able to focus on portraits. Before this year I did not have a certain style. The development of my style through self expression helped me to create something new and unique that people like to look at. I think my style is still developing and that it will always be constantly developing as I continue my career as an artist. 
​

This year in AP Art I learned a lot about myself. I learned about what environments I work best in and gained confidence through my accomplishments. I tend to work better under pressure and with a set deadline. I learned that I work best with the medium chalk pastel and I was able to explore this medium in depth this year. I was able to try many different types of surfaces to work on and found that I like gray scale paper the best. This paper adds depth and texture to my pieces. The things I learned this year will help me as an artist to continue and explore more mediums. It allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and try new and unexpected things. 

​