Ava Miller Scholastics 2025 Portfolio

I began this series with a desire to learn more about my family members, their lives before I was born, and the relationships that contributed to bringing me into this world. As a child, I loved hearing my parents and grandparents tell stories about their early lives, and I was thrilled to look through old photo albums whenever I visited family. My mom often talked about her wedding day and her pregnancy, and when I visited my dad, he told funny stories about his relationship with my mom in college. I held onto those parts of my parents’ past because they are the only artifacts of when they were married. My first painting marks the beginning of the journey to discover more about my family’s past. The chain symbol throughout my portfolio symbolizes the links between my family’s past and my life, while the dark and light voids portray the ambiguity that surrounds my understanding of family. I hold tightly onto the chain to represent the grasp I have on my family’s past as I continue to uncover their history. The locket in the second painting is a necklace my grandmother initially had, then gifted to my mother, who then gave it to me. It represents my mother and grandmother’s strength throughout my parents' separation. I hold it to make the locket the main focus to pay tribute to that strength. In the third painting, I continue to use symbols to visualize my grandmother and our relationship. She would always give me York Peppermint Patties as a treat, which became the highlight of my visits, and is now something that will always remind me of her. The chain is wrapped around one of the patties, lifting it above from the rest to show how she lifted my spirits regardless of our situation. The fourth image is where I shift my focus to exploring the relationship with my father. I drew my hand reaching out but not touching my father’s hand to signify how we were never fully connected for most of my youth. I digitally added fragments of my original photographs of the chain to further express our broken connection. However, I recently rekindled my relationship with my dad after 14 years. We now talk often, and he is more engaged in my life. In my 5th work, I was inspired to look back on a childhood memory when we were closely bonded. I drew the image with subtle values on gray paper to give it a nostalgic feel, then lightly drew in a broken chain to contrast that memory to our later relationship. The last work in my portfolio represents the confidence I have today as I prepare to take the next steps in life. I use the chain symbol surrounding me to show how I stay aware of my upbringing and my family’s history even as I move into adulthood. I show that the past actions and stories of my family essentially made me who I am today.

My earliest memory is finger painting with my father. We were sitting down in the living room, our hands stained with different variations of the rainbow, paint smeared across my face. I created something so magical, whimsical, and special: the rainbow ant. Although it was not officially identified as a real animal, the rainbow ant was my most treasured creation, one that felt entirely real to me. My parents divorced when I was young, and I didn't see much of the rainbow ant in the years that followed. As time progressed, the rainbow ant remained tucked in the furthest reaches of my mind. Slowly, I transitioned from the sloppiness of my fingers to the more mature nature of a paintbrush. It took time and patience. My mom loved that I was interested in art. She saw it as a way for me to carry on my grandmother's artistic talent.I started taking art classes around the age of 10, which instantly captivated me in a way no other activity had. Art became an out-of-body experience, something that opened otherwise inaccessible parts of my mind and heartspace. I felt utterly transported to another world. In this twice weekly escape from the stresses of the outside world, I had space to create and imagine, get lost in colors, lines, and shapes. I slowly turned this experience into my own personal refuge, braving new media like colored pencils and sketching. After time passed and colored pencils wore down, I started to grow weary of art, bored even. Suddenly my view of art became something of a childish pursuit and I decided to abandon it in exchange for entirely different activities. I tried other things, gymnastics, tennis, and other sports, hoping to find inspiration in something less “silly. This went on for a while–until that mysterious ant crawled out from the depths of my mind. Memories of delight and imagination flooded my vision as I recalled that special creature who had captured my heart all those years ago. I owed it to that little ant to rekindle my passion for art. I resumed my art lessons at a small studio near our house. I started practicing shading in graphite, then moved up to charcoal, and eventually to paint. I quickly became fascinated with color theory, relating it to my emotions. Color theory opened a whole new world of expression, a new vocabulary for giving life to images in my mind. It gave me a richer, deeper, and more dynamic language for being curious about myself and others. Just like the way a color looks one way on the palate, but entirely different on a dark background, one experience may seem bad or unfortunate, but ends up leading to great things. Throughout high school, I challenged myself to join as many art competitions as I could. I ended up winning my fair share of awards, and I will always credit the rainbow ant.