Art has always played a crucial part in my life. Ever since elementary school, I have always incorporated art into everything I do. Whether it was doodling in my notebooks or drawing pictures for stories, I’ve always tried to perfect my skills when I didn’t feel as confident. Once I started to attend Wheeler, my art life was enhanced and I was given more opportunities to practice art. To me, art is a way to express your feelings and it allows you to create something that you can’t put into words. It helps me to de-stress and take my mind off of things when I’m having a tough time. I hope to continue art once I graduate from Wheeler and possibly pursue art in addition to my career.

This past year I have focused more on hand building rather than throwing on a wheel. I’ve tried to give all my pieces of work meaning, so everything that I have created has a special significance to me. My work has been inspired by singers, rappers, my Catholicism, friends, and family. Going to Barcelona this past Summer, I was inspired by Antoni Gaudi’s work and I hoped to be able to create some pieces of work influenced by him, to be featured in my art show. I most often use clay, but have included drawings and paintings as well. Drawing has been a big part in my pieces this year, for planning them out and being able to transfer drawings onto clay.

I hope that from seeing my work, others can see the difficulties I have gone through in only the past two years and see how I was able to grow from these experiences through my art. Maybe it will inspire others to make their own art or create more pieces that show who they are through their art. I would like to include written pieces of work next to each piece, so viewers can see how I interpreted what I made.