Blinky’s design is geometrical and repetitive, I painted about 300 nearly identical eyes to cover its entire body, to challenge my limits as an artist. This was the first time I’d used paint outside of messing around in sketchbooks, and the timeframe for the project was short, but I still wanted to give the viewer the sense that I put lots of effort and attention to detail into my work.

This sculptural piece in concept collaboration with Mary Gardener, advocate for the arts was influenced by her years in Paris, France, her passion for abstract art, and wandering through art galleries and being inspired by works by Piet Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg, and Amedeo Modigliani.

The teapot was inspired by the artist Joan Miro because I love how abstract, yet precise, his artwork is. I love working with clay, just as I love abstract painting, so this piece was a great way for me to express both of those interests.

A simple square boot decorated with years of wear paired with a cross applique and vine embroidery: it appears to sag to the shape of the foot that has worn it, yet the vines sit boldly above the wrinkled leather to signify the growth that has come from a challenging year while the cross represents faith in a divine power and hope for a better future. Crafted by hand and shaped from stoneware clay, this piece symbolizes the complexity of life that is unknown to others until others walk in one’s shoes.

This piece was inspired by Maria Martinez, a Native American Pueblo potter. My piece was made using the traditional method of building with concealed coils and burnished with a smooth rock, creating a polished unglazed surface with no tool marks, while the form is a reference to a gourd found in nature and has a balance of design and colors.

The left side of the work shows an elegant animal living in its habitat, while the right side shows the animal living in a human world where its existence is nothing but a dollar sign. I'm passionate about stopping the ivory trade and getting this animal back into the safe zone where it can live in peace.

I decided to make this piece because I was challenged by my little brother. I think as an artist you are never fully satisfied and there are some things I wish I would have done differently but I am very grateful for what I have learned from building this castle, it helped me grow as an artist and I am excited to see what I am capable of doing later on.

The beauty of the natural world invites us to play and create.

This work shows the positive outlook that you get when you look at the sky whether it be you are having a bad day or just want something to look at and forget about everything.

My history of depression, anxiety and ADHD are displayed in this self-portrait as the slow shutter speed used on the image allows others to see how alienated I feel from my own body and experiences. Photography is an outlet for me and I have used it to get through many challenges in my life.

This artwork is about the times that your plans fall through and you lose all hope and motivation. Just laying on the floor all dressed up with no where to go.

This photo represents the passage of time throughout the pandemic and how it's gone by like a warp in time. It's as if I left in March 2020 and warped into today without any time going by as if walking through a portal through the months and I lost a year of life in a flash.

A self portrait defining one of the biggest aspects of my life. Indulging myself with the art that appears on a screen.

Taking this photo was fun and the water dropping into the bird bath looked awesome!

This photo was taken while at a local laundry mat.

This picture reminds me of my family, which has lived on the same property in southern Paradise for almost 100 years. Walking around our 12 acres is like walking back in time because I see the hard work my grandfather and great-grandfather put into it by developing the land into a commercial almond farm.

The reflection of the trees and the gloomy sky is noticeable as the raindrops cascade down the windshield. The feeling that I was going for was that even on a gloomy day, there is still plenty of beauty in the world.

If we are brave enough to look through the smoke we find strength. And in strength we find beauty.

This image represents the things that mean something to me.

My artwork represents the love I have for my grandfather and the courage to face difficulties with strength.

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For this drawing I started watching one of my favorite movies, sat on my bed and began to sketch. I am proud of the art I made, and this experience has reminded me that art is an enjoyable process, and my best art is made when I don't pressure myself so my only expectation is to have no expectations.

My piece embodies beauty by acknowledging life and death. There is so much pain and anguish in the world sometimes you just need to take a step back and admire the beauty of things from a different perspective”

The most apparent forms of beauty are often seen in the light, but sometimes the most undiscovered and rare beauties are in the shadows just waiting to be discovered. You must go through the dark in order to discover the light.

This piece embodies beauty because of the details in the face, such as the delicate blue hues in the shadowing and highlighting. The flowers in the back represent growth in the people and the beauty of change.

I wanted color to be the dominant force in this work. The imagery is meant to be secondary to the expressive use of color and value.

Art is how you can express yourself without judgement, this piece of work was my escape into a world of colors and serenity.

I like to capture an emotion in my artwork, the feeling I was trying to convey with this piece was isolation. The bold red color was meant to represent power, contrasted with the polished metal imagery of the wolf.

The reason I make art is to give me an escape from the real world. This piece allowed me to create my own fantasy and visit it every time I worked on it.

The movies and cartoons I grew up with were full of magic, color and design, but that magic is gone in the media of today. I used the movie "Labyrinth" as a reference point for the imagery in this work.

The beauty is in the contrast between that which is real, is present and nourishes us and our memories, which sustain us in different ways.

A tangle of hair in a mess of flowers, woven around a single soul.

My whole life I have loved small critters and sweet stories such as Beatrix Potter’s. I strive to create my own whimsical scenes inspired by California's coast that is home to all sorts of fantastical creatures, and in this particular piece one of my characters is swimming amongst the fish that reside in her sea.

I had never made such a large painting before and it was challenging to make the reflections, textures, and colors of the water. I’m proud of this painting, it is the longest I have ever spent on one painting.

I have heard so many women and little girls being told by people that they need to lose weight in order to be considered beautiful. I did this artwork because I wanted to show no matter what body type you have you are beautiful and you don't need to be what society thinks is beautiful.

I really like clouds so I wanted to paint them with watercolors, using pinks, purples, and blues, which are my favorite colored clouds. I was also inspired by the song by mt. fugitive called "Waffle Break."

I enjoyed painting this surreal version of a common yet out of date toy. The form of the object made me think of planets and floating orbs, so placing it in the ground of space fits it well.

This work reminds me of the importance of balancing life: life is tough and to glow you need to have peace and calmness in your life. The sun with a face represents the good and glowing in life, while the moon with a face with stars around it represents the peace we need in our lives.

This art piece is a reflection of the world we have been living in since the start of the Covid 19 outbreak. This world has been in disarray and full of heartbreak, however, there has also been a little good sprinkled in that we all need to focus on and look toward a brighter future.

I was inspired to paint this because of the sides of my dog's personality and the beauty each of them shows.

Objects remind us of memories. However, their beauty is not in the object itself, but in the memory it holds.

In this piece I am investigating the simple yet beautiful positioning of hands. The strings are purely for tension of composition.

This still life was inspired by the vanitas style, which reflects the essence of life and death through symbolism. Each object symbolizes a significant part of my life; the red easel, conveys my passion for art and creativity, and the die, represents the diverse possibilities of my youth.

"Reclaimed" was inspired by the manner in which nature organically reclaims everything: I incorporated the fear that humans have of death or rebirth into the portrait, but also included hope in the form of the depicted bird. Nature and regrowth are important parts of life.

I was going through an album and found a photo of my younger cousin, Isabel, pushing a toy shopping cart. I couldn’t help feeling bittersweet, despite the innocent and generally happy context.

In this work my intent was to express the peak of awakening to truth and freedom and letting go of the last bits of darkness. It is important to me that this be open to interpretation without any notion of gender or race identity.

I met a commuter while I was asleep and the driver did not give us the privilege of our destination and the darkened windows awarded us no visions of our surroundings. We were without a past, present, or future and to our questions, the darkness gave no answers.

This light hearted prisma color pencil drawing on mat board is meant to convey the crazy times we are living in. Everything needs to be taken with a good laugh, and the knowledge of what the future may hold.

After looking through childhood photographs, I came across a picture that sparked a vivid memory. Through color and brush strokes, I hoped to not only replicate the imagery but the feeling of being within the salon as well.

There are emotions that cannot be evoked by words alone. Art is my voice, my true second language.

There are emotions that cannot be evoked by words alone. Art is my voice, a second language where I can express more abstract ideas and questions that do not always require answers.

I didn't want clean lines so it looks more like a scribble that accidentally ended up good, which is what I was going for.

I began this chalk pastel drawing with an outline of the tiger then slowly worked from background to the body, chest, and face. I liked creating this artwork because it wasn't too difficult and it wasn't too easy.

The warrior spirit: it is needed for the world I am born into.

Bonds between people require trust; without it, we cannot support each other in times of need.

As we journey through life, emotions gather around us. Our feelings change with the seasons as we renew our hope for the future.

The project was fun because I was able to use whatever medium I wanted to finish it. I like using colored pencils because I can get vibrant colors and dark black at the same time.

I love drawing portraits with special details. I used floral wallpaper as inspiration for this portrait.

I wanted to represent my name as literally and colorfully as possible.

I make art because it's a positive distraction, it allows me to forget about everything around me. I drew a skull because I think they're really interesting and it's fun to draw the details.

I was inspired to create a hand holding a flower with a butterfly because I find it interesting how many ways you can move hands, it has always fascinated me. I showed the hand holding the flower with the butterfly on it because I think that they are delicate and beautiful just like people are.

This piece depicts the beautiful yet complicated relationship between two sisters. Family is complicated, sacred, and tormented.

Wading is an analogy: it explains what it is like for a negative thought to be pushed aside and left to fester until it is too much to ignore, until it suffocates and feels unconquerable. This prison that exists in your mind seems easy to escape from any perspective besides your own like being under a sheet slowly weighed down, soaking in a rising tide.

The piece is about how other people's expectations and your own can hold you down. Because of how the environment you're raised in and the people around you affect you, by the time you can really think for yourself and say "I don't want to be like this," you're so restricted that you can't bring yourself to change so as not to disappoint those around you.

The overwhelming fear that stops you from moving is what I show in this piece: the brightness of the color pencil shows the awareness you have in these moments, highlighting the object of your fears and yourself. A bell hangs to the side, an untouched signal for help, though so close, in the girl's mind it is unreachable.

This piece shows the beauty of everyday objects, with bright colors to emphasize their placement. I highlighted contrasting and vibrant colors to convey an imaginative place of beauty.

Beauty of human connection.

Art is how I can express myself without judgement. It’s the escape into a world of values, hues and tones, representing a moment of serenity and quiet calm.

I spent a lot of time trying to get the fur to look the way it did in the photo.

This is my first time using a scratchboard. It was fun because the parrot has a lot of texture.

I am inspired by nature.

I chose an animal that was black and white so I would be able to scratch it. It was hard to make the black areas stand out from the background.

The image in this work contains many flowing lines.

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I choose to create a scratchboard image of an animal that I think is beautiful, a panda.

I wanted to choose an extra fuzzy animal because it would look best as a scratchboard.

The photograph was chosen by class vote. I enjoy drawing from photographs and this was a good challenge for me.

A simple look into everyday objects reveals their hidden beauty.

Watchful and wary, our lives are spent on high alert.

I made this art piece to represent the pain of being distanced from your partner, having only a computer screen to connect you. The moon is to represent the only thing in sight we share, and the forests are to show the difference in area between us.

This piece came to me in a dream, but it more so represents the feelings of those big changes happening in life. It feels like going to this scary unknown portal where you don't know what is on the other side, and you're being torn apart.

This piece shows humankind's never ending search for a purpose through different cultures. Humans have argued over our purpose on this earth for a millennia, when the real beauty of life is not knowing.

This piece is based off of the stress of what society thinks of us and how we are beautiful no matter others opinions.

This piece shows the merge between modern "beauty" and nature. The two do not naturally occur, but when put together, make an extraordinary sight.

The teamwork of the soldiers lifting the flag puts beauty and nobility into a stark image.

I like painting horror type stuff, and I wanted to practice more dramatic lighting and backgrounds. I’m proud of how this turned out given I don’t often make full paintings such as this, but usually concentrate on isolated character development.

This piece is an exploration of shape, line, pattern, and color utilizing the male figure and featuring contemporary fashion. Each of the figures represents a meaningful friendship in my life and reflects the experiences that I've had with them.

I really enjoyed trying to figure out ocean scenes and marine life in this work. I have been working with digital art for four or five years and am self taught.

Beauty is as beauty does. We all deal with struggles when it comes to finding work some of us more than others.