Middle School

I drew this self-portrait in ebony pencil for New Year’s to symbolize growth, change, strength, and hope. After four months of doing remote learning and over nine months of being at home in quarantine, the stress of being isolated from friends and family, as well as the anxiety from the insecurity of living with COVID, was beginning to really take its toll. I wanted to convey a sense of calm, but still, show my concern for all the current events coming to a head at once in our lives. I wanted to project a feeling of inner strength and that I was resolved to both survive all the extenuating problems in our country and hopefully help promote change. I drew my sweatshirt falling down around my arms to show myself in a relaxed state and wore a necklace with gold butterflies to symbolize being light-hearted, fancy-free, and the feeling of escape. I wanted to portray myself as thoughtful, caring, compassionate, but also strong. The main goal was to convey a sense of character through my eyes which look straight into the eyes of the viewer, as if to say, “I may be calm and letting my guard down a bit now, but I am also powerful.” I would say that making art over the past year, while primarily being house-bound, has provided me with a form of escape in many ways. I have always been able to lose myself in being creative. This year, art helped me find myself and communicate thoughts, feelings, and ideas that I couldn’t necessarily share with friends or peers at school. Making art not only helped to pass the time and calm my anxiety, but it helped me to feel like I was being productive instead of just being stuck. Rather than feeling imprisoned, I felt like I was escaping the drudgery and the stress of lockdown. I love the idea of creating something good out of bad. Even though I am isolated, I can still evolve as a person. I think my self-portrait reflects someone who has many layers of complexity.

-Sadie Berk