Flora

My name is Flora. I use she/her pronouns and I am in the eighth grade. Art is important to me because it is a creative way that I can express myself and it's also enjoyable and relaxing to make art. I believe that art is important to society because it can bring people together which builds community and it can generate positivity or visually educate people about topics they don't know about. When someone sees an art piece that they can relate to it can make them feel recognized and supported and everyone should feel seen. While making my piece I learned that I can get distracted easily and I need to take breaks so that I can focus better on what I’m doing.

My piece represents my passion for ballet–I’ve seen many things in museums that at first I didn’t understand as art, but while making these shoes I realized that many objects in art are expressions of the artist’s passion and point of view. I wasn't directly inspired by any artist in particular but I have seen numerous people create similar pieces on social media. The materials I used for this project were pink gems, iridescent gems, glue, white paint, and a pair of my old pointe shoes. A challenge I faced while making my piece was how to space out the gems so that there wouldn't be noticeable gaps in between them. I eventually ended up placing the gems in between the two gems below on the previous row. I think the way I placed the gems onto my pointe shoes worked well and gave them a captivating sensory effect. When people see my piece I hope that they feel joyful, and inspired and also see all the hard work and time I put into them.