Adrianne Lenker is a singer-songwriter who has a solo career, as well as a band called Big Thief. I admire her for the way she writes her lyrics and is able to create worlds in her songs. Listening to her music feels almost as though you are getting sucked into her life through a portal. She uses her music as a way of expression that feels like letting her listeners in and showing who she is through her music, while also using songwriting to talk about world issues and the pressures of society. This is the reason I've incorporated this swirl into the work, to represent this portal to her life that she's created. I also chose to use the lyrics from the song 'Incomprehensible', because it really encompasses her ability to spin words to defy societal expectations through celebrating life. Her music, to me, feels like a fight against the pressures of society and an appreciation for the beauty and freedom of life, and I really admire her ability to do that.

For my work I choose to center it around my mom since there are so many things that I admire about her. I used many different art mediums and incorporated a lot of nature because my mom and I both share a love for it. She is one of the strongest people I know, one way she shows this is her passion and dedication to triathlon, which I showcased in many different ways. As well as some of her other interests.

For this assignment, I decided to choose Billie Eilish as my admiration. I wanted to incorporate different aspects of why I admire her including images of her playing guitar, singing, some of her lyrics and many pictures have her smiling in them. The theme of it was red and blue, based on her song "ilomilo" which is a song about a video game where the characters "ilo" and "milo" have to find each other. I feel like this symbolises what I did when I found her music. Many of the "add-ons" are references to song lyrics or album covers. I also admire her confidence which is why I used a photo that demonstrated the trait for the portrait, with her having eye contact with the camera.

My artwork for the assignment "My Admiration" consists of my grandma and my mom, two of the hardest working members of my family that I undoubtedly look up to. From sleepless nights since I was a baby to the many, many hours in the kitchen, my mom and grandma have always shown their love and care for me via their diligent favours. Throughout my life, I have always taken their hardworking nature for granted, and in recent years, I have realized how privileged I was. Likewise, I want to provide the same respect -- whether it be cleaning or cooking -- as they did for me when I was younger.

I chose my mom as the person I admire because of many of her qualities. She is patient, hard working, and very optimistic. She always has a smile on her face no matter what she is going through. Her personality and smile always lights up a room.

I did my artwork on Yuki Ishikawa, a professional volleyball player from team Japan. I chose him because I admire his skill, humbleness and adaptability. On my artwork, on the bottom half I made the background a volleyball court and a bunch of quotes of his own in the top half that shows his wisdom. I then layered in a net and a 3D volleyball to add texture and draw attention to the sport. I drew him 3 times in different volleyball positions that he plays to show his versatility. Finally I added a quote of his in bold in the centre, at the time he is quoted he is considered one of the top 10 volleyball players in the world, but he still acts humble and modest when talking about some of his career.

For this assignment, I chose Will Ferrell. Every time I see him on screen, he brings me joy because of his unique humour and energetic personality. Over the years, my dad and I have grown closer through our shared love of his movies, laughing together at the same scenes and quoting our favourite lines, which makes his work even more meaningful to me. His dedication to his craft fascinates me and his willingness to be unapologetically himself inspires me to be more confident.

I admire the music of Cigarettes After Sex because it creates a calm and emotional atmosphere that helps me escape reality for just that brief second. It makes the music feel very personal and relatable. I like how the slow sounds and vocals make the song more peaceful and also a little nostalgic. 

The reason why I drew Micheal Jordan is because I like basketball and I also like to watch basketball. And also, when I watched Michael Jordan’s game, the dunk was so cool. The scene where he jumps and dunks from the free throw line probably marked a milestone in basketball history. And also, Michael Jordan was a good person to draw. I think Michael Jordan was the best for the solid image and direct expression of the dunk. I wanted to draw Michael Jordan a little bit like a poster, so I did it neatly.

The person I drew for this assignment is Bang Chan from the boy group “Stray Kids.” What I admire about him the most is his perseverance: Bang Chan gave up his youth and joined the company at the age of 13, and trained for 7 years until he was finally able to debut with the members he chose himself and became a leader for them. I wanted the quote in the artwork to represent that exactly. One of their music videos, named “Hollow,” greatly inspired me. From what I’ve incorporated using the music video: the orb in his hand represents happiness in the form of his success, and the spotlight represents that he is always on stage (even when he's not), and that the spotlight still creeps in there since he's constantly being filmed, whether officially or not.

In this assignment, the 2 things I decided to draw were my parents and the story game I used to play with my friends. My parents are an obvious choice for the assignment, as I admire their hard work in taking care of me and my brothers while both having their own jobs. While with the game, I admire my friend who did the storytelling. Which shaped my interest into fantasy and is one of the reasons why my art looks the way it does today. In the artwork there is a cracked line between the top and bottom of the work, showing the separation between reality and fantasy. While the characters, the ones in fantasy are mimicking me and my friends showing the connection between both worlds.

My collage is Mazzy Joya. She inspires me because she teaches me to respect myself and to always put myself first. I also really enjoy her content and I've been following her on social media for 3 years now. I like her style and she gives me a lot of art inspiration and clothing inspo. 

I did my admiration assignment on David Bowie. I chose him as my admiration because I find him very inspiring, because of the way he doesn’t care what others think shown by his clothing choices and demeanor. I find I am most like myself when I listen to his music as it makes me feel empowered and like someone is watching my back. Another reason why I like David Bowie is because of his music. He is my favourite musical artist particularly because of his lyrics, they send a message of hope at least that what I infer from his music especially his persona ziggy stardust. In the end I am very happy that I chose David  Bowie as my muse because it was really fun incorporating his style into the art piece by adding fabric to represent his awesome fashion choice. 

I admire Adam Sandler because he has made many iconic and funny movies that people still enjoy watching today, such as Just Go With it, Grown Ups, 50 First Dates, Happy Gilmore, and more. These movies show his unique sense of humor and how he built a successful career by staying true to his own comedic style. He is known for being very loyal to his friends, often casting the same actors in his films and creating opportunities for them to work together. In my collage, I also included photos of his casual outfits because even though he is very rich and famous, he dresses very simple in oversized T-shirts, basketball shorts, and sneakers. It shows that he is a very down-to-earth and humble person who doesn't feel the need to show off his wealth. Another reason I admire him is that he seems like a really caring father. He has two daughters and often talks about them proudly, which makes him seem like a very supportive and loving parent.

This artwork represents Malik Ata, someone I admire for his strength, courage, and leadership. In the drawing, he stands in front of large mountains. I created the mountains to symbolize how strong and self-built he was. Mountains are powerful and stand tall through storms, just like he showed resilience and strength through challenges. The artwork is in black and white to give it a serious and respectful feeling. I chose these colors because he has passed away, and the lack of color represents remembrance and respect for his life. The strong shading also makes him and the mountains look more powerful, showing his bravery and the impact he had.

I chose Ariana Grande for my project because her music inspires me. I relate so much to her lyrics and look up to her as a person. She is very inspiring and helps people regardless of her fame.

I created a pencil portrait of my mom based on a photo. I used shading to create a realistic look. I made a portrait with a purple border, which is my mom's favourite colour. 

I chose Jhene Aiko as the person I admire because her music stands out to me. I have been a fan of her for years, and I got the chance to experience her tour date last year. Her music brings me happiness, and her lyrics inspire me to stay calm no matter how difficult the situation I'm in is.

This assignment was meaningful to me because I've been listening to Partynextdoor since 2018 and his music got me through quarantine. I like his music because he is from Toronto as well, and this was the perfect opportunity to show my appreciation for him and his music and because I wasn't able to make it to his Toronto concert. I used watercolour since it is my favourite medium and picked lyrics and quotes I most relate too.

I chose to make an art piece of Audrey Hepburn because I really admire her as a person, not just an actor. Besides being a Hollywood star, she was such an important role model for women in her time. To this day, her messages about beauty coming from within and being the best version of yourself still resonates with my generation. Audrey Hepburn also cared a lot about social justice since she was young and spoke out towards antisemitism and inequality in the world. I admire that she used her fame to be a voice for people that didn't have a voice. Aside from this, she also was a huge fashion icon and I have always loved seeing the different styles of clothing in all her movies. 

As the focal point of my faith, Jesus inspires me, which is why I decided to draw Him. Jesus represents love, sacrifice, and hope in my view as a Protestant Christian. He serves as a reminder to me to be kind, forgiving, and strong even in the face of adversity. I wanted to convey through this piece of art how His example directs my life and motivates me to improve myself every day.

The artwork is a portrait pencil drawing of my mom. I chose to draw her because she is someone I admire a lot. She is strong, caring, and always supports me, so I wanted to create a portrait that shows how important she is to me.

The images I included matter because they represent Yamaoka's work on Silent Hill. The game covers and characters show what he helped create, while the darker pictures reflect the mood his music brought to the series. The handwritten text adds a personal touch, showing how much he inspires me.

I admire my Mum in so many ways, that made it difficult to pick which reason I wanted to show in this project. The way I chose were the first ones that came to mind. I admire her kindness and how every new person she meets, she'll be kind to them. I've seen this so many times, especially when we are volunteering. Her work ethic is also incredible, I've been seeing this a lot more recently than in the past and it's incredible. The last one I chose was determination to do things when she sets her mind to it. These are only a few reasons why I admire my Mum so much.

I did my artwork based on the global icon SZA, I wanted to do my assignment surrounding her since she grew up muslim and she went through the hardships of being bound to a religion and its heavy rules and she decided that she didn't want her life to feel like she was trapped in a cage, and so she left Islam to explore other religions. So I made my artwork focused around her accomplishments and how her lyrics can really resonate with her fans, and the text and images represent both cultural and personal impacts. This can also show how SZA inspires people to see the beauty in themselves along with the process of becoming. 

Characters are (primarily) Miyako Ishida, from my all time favourite animated film "A Silent Voice" & Ruka Rengoku, from the animated series "Demon Slayer". The two quotes/blocks of text are from Ruka & her son, who I felt connected with the first & following times I listen to it as it resonates as a message my mom would want me to inherit. The several X's are from the movie A Silent Voice, where the main character suffers from depression, self loathing & anxiety - from hating how he was in his childhood & how he got practically left behind. The X's are on nearly every face in his perspective.. other than his mother (& niece). I wanted to incorporate this as I can feel the same. The white object with red flames is the cape of the son of Ruka Rengoku (Kyojuro Rengoku). There is a stone wall like object, which is a rough drawing of something I once saw my mom attempt to put back together while walking with her for errands- her finger nails went a little black from the heavy stone. At the moment I was annoyed but now I see how she will do things before others.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is very talented and creative, and he inspires me to work hard to achieve my goals. His success shows that passion, dedication, and imagination can lead to amazing accomplishments that can be shared and enjoyed with the world.