Art

Character Over Stereotypes

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“For 2023 I wish that stereotypes stop defining who we are as a person, and we are defined by our own selves no matter what ethnicity. I wanted to include some of the most common stereotypes that have been used in the past couple years and put them up on a cork board because I know that cork boards/any type of board are some of the most common ways to spread helpful/encouraging words. An example could be billboards which are set up on streets giving out helpful information to people as they drive by, or even motivational writings.”

The Hopeful Year

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“My submission represents my hopes for 2023. I’m graduating high school during the 2023 year, so I wanted to emphasize this as the focus point since it will be the biggest accomplishment that I will soon experience. Growing up and graduating high school can carry a lot of fear and anxiety for me, so I decided that I should reverse these feelings and instead be excited and hopeful towards the bright future. In my painting I decided to draw myself in my future graduation gown holding a diploma with a green ribbon. I decided that the ribbon should be green because it represents mental health awareness. I’ve struggled with poor mental health for a large part of my life so one of my other hopes for 2023 would be taking more care of myself and mental health. By becoming more aware of my own needs, I’m hoping for my mental health to gradually become better this year. I surrounded myself in my painting with plants to show my hopes for growth. I will be going through a lot of changes, and I especially hope that I grow due to these changes. Specifically, the flowers beneath me are daffodils which symbolize new beginnings. The 2023 year for me will be filled with new beginnings and I’m hopeful that it will bring me a new outlook on life, success with college, and a healthy mind. I’m very hopeful for this upcoming year, and I wanted to show this as best as I could through my piece.”

Memories

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“For my entry, I wanted to show that I am looking forward to the new memories I will make in 2023. I wanted to have photos represent the memories because I feel like photos are connected to memories – people take photos to remember certain events in their lives. Each photo shows my overall feelings about each year so I made the photo for 2023 really bright because I’m hoping that it will be better than previous years. During the pandemic I couldn’t make the same type of memories that I had in the years before. I was stuck at home and couldn’t really hang out with anyone except for my immediate family and even then, we couldn’t do the same things we used to. I’m really hoping for this year to be good, especially because I will be graduating this year.”

New Year, New Me.

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“My piece is meant for the monthly prompt category, which could have been interpreted in different ways. The route I went with has changed because for the new year, I wanted to be a newer, better version of myself. As someone who feels like they don’t fit the binary, I’ve struggled with my gender identity a lot. It’s hard to feel right in my own skin and I’ve felt miserable sometimes due to this feeling of being out of place in the world. My piece is meant to be a symbolic version of this change of identity, which has the person in the drawing cutting their hair. The cutting of the hair represents them taking a step towards the change they want—the step I want to take to reaffirm my identity. This piece shows that I want to make the metaphoric move in feeling like my true self in the new year.”

Metamorphosis

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“My final semester of high school is underway, and graduation rapidly approaches. 2023 is the year I finally leave home and explore the world, through my higher education. 2022 was largely a year of comforts for me; still in the same town, with the same people, and the same routines that I have been living for the past several years. Leaving will bring discomfort, but I know that doing so will allow me to grow into my best self. Many of my peers feel the same way, especially those moving even further away. One of my best friends is planning on moving across the country for college, and despite the sorrow I feel in knowing we will be separated soon, I know that we are all moving on to bigger and better things. This sentiment of shedding old skin is portrayed in my painting through the fading of a high school varsity jacket. In the background, there is also symbolism. To the right, there is scenery from my hometown. To the left, which I am facing in this self-portrait, is the town of my dream college. I look forward to the new experiences that 2023 brings, and the optimistic glow of the painting reflects this. This year, my hope for myself and everyone around me is for us to grow and undergo our own personal metamorphosis into a better version of ourselves.”

Catching my inspiration

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“This project includes mixed media of photography of me in my catching gear, watercolor paints, and markers. I have played baseball since I was three years old. In 2019 my little league major baseball season was cut short, and I missed playing baseball and playing with my friends. When baseball started up again, I was not as good, and I was discouraged playing catcher. All I could do was hope for the new season and that I would improve. I found words that helped motivate me to keep trying and not give up hope of becoming better. This project includes encouraging words that have inspired me to stay motivated in baseball and school and continue trying harder.”

Molding Yourself

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“We hand sculpted the clay into society’s perfect vision of a man and a woman. We struggle and fight to figure out our place in the world, but we shouldn’t shape ourselves based on the fear and expectation of what other’s want us to be.”

It’s Just Me

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“In my painting, I want to express my hopes of finding myself this year. Looking back on 2022, I went through a lot of rough patches. During those hard times, I felt like I lost myself in multiple instances. Even though on the outside I looked fine, on the inside I felt empty almost like a void, never-ending sadness. So, with that thought in mind, I created this painting. I represented the feelings I felt during my rough patches. In the back, you will see bright colors. Those colors represent my favorite parts of myself. Even though I felt like a blue never-ending void, the best parts of me were still there in the background, waiting to be shown again.”

Hope for people to find their happy spot

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“I chose to do this piece because I want people to find their happiness anywhere and for people to not be lonely. Also for people to find hope for what they are doing because some people might think it’s not fun but other people might think it is.”

Puma-22

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“This is a digital drawing of the recently deceased mountain lion P-22. P-22 – who was euthanized on December 17, 2022, after being hit by a car – has played an important role in raising awareness on animal rights issues across Southern California. P-22 was born in the Santa Monica mountains in 2010, but crossed two highways to move to Griffith Park in Los Angeles, where he was forced to survive within an 8 square mile range (compared to the 150 required by other male cats) and would never find a mate. His situation quickly grew famous, and people grew more aware of how humans had damaged Southern California’s ecosystems. As a result of P-22’s life stuck in Griffith Park, people are taking serious measures to make sure no mountain lion will ever be forced into a situation as forlorn as his. A bridge is being built between two parts of the Santa Monica Mountain range to help expand mountain lion territories and genetic diversity, which have decreased because human development has separated parts of the mountains. P-22’s time in Griffith Park has helped to raise awareness on California’s environmental problems and bring justice to animals across Southern California, and I hope this piece can show that and help us in remembering his life.”