Artist Statement
My art helps reflect who I am as an artist as it is always evolving. I love to try out different kinds of media, experimenting with different mark making, painting and overall creativity. All through my high school career, I have continuously challenged myself while pushing the envelope of what I think I could do. To say all of the art that I have created hasn’t been a struggle would be the furthest thing from the truth. There have been a few pieces that did not turn out the way I had envisioned them. Instead of presenting a piece that I am not proud of, I will take the time to redo or make the corrections until the artwork is up to my standard. I would have to say that this is one of my weaknesses and well as my strengths. I truly believe being critical of myself has helped me to become a better artist. I have high expectations for myself and it drives me to constantly create something bigger and better. I believe as an artist there is no reason in playing it safe and not pushing your skills and creativity to the limit. Each of the pieces that I chose for my art portfolio shows my overall wide range of skills from acrylic painting, watercolor, and graphite to my new addition of creativity in theatrical lighting and design. Art can invoke many emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, or anything that simply intrigues the human mind to ask, “What is this piece trying to say?” When people interact with my artwork, I hope they can fully immerse themselves in every color, shadow, shape, and design they see. I wish for people to take a moment to try and understand my artwork. That is to simply take a moment to discover the story that I am presenting to the viewer. I wish for people to embrace my art as they are taking in an extension of who I am as an artist. I want my art to intrigue the mind whether it be a simplistic yet powerful watercolor or a bold composition of history.
I got into theatrical tech by just wanting to experience something new and try a different art form. What I didn't know at the time was how much I would adore doing tech. I developed a huge passion and drive to learn everything I could about theatrical arts. Last year, I got involved in my school's theatrical tech doing my first musical. I had the position of prop supervisor under the prop master. At that time, I had never done anything like this in my life! Being able to see the process of lighting, moving set pieces and the beauty of everything working together was incredible. The production crew taught me how to adjust and set up everything from different mic packs, lighting, audio, sets, and props for a show. In this art form, I found out very quickly how you can go from zero to one hundred in a matter of minutes. There are little mishaps every now and then you have to be ready to adjust to any situation. During a show, there is an adrenaline rush not only for the actors, but also the techs themselves as we are anxious about presenting a good show. After my first show, I witnessed all of the hard work that came together and it made me utterly speechless. I still can distinctly remember when the curtain was drawn to reveal the actors with grand lights showing the beginning of the show and thinking how proud I was to be a part of that. Throughout the rest of that year, I was able to experience multiple positions in the theatrical world taking time to understand each one. The roles I had the opportunity to learn and experience were: prop supervisor, assistant stage left stagehand, spot operator, lead prop master, light board operator, assistant light designer, and stage manager. I was able to learn how to work a lightboard and even later was able to help design a show. When designing for shows so many different factors must be considered such as what is happening in the scene, the mood, the actors themselves, and the execution of everything working together such as audio cues lining up with lights. I realized that it is more than just the actors that are an integral part of a theatrical show.
I hope to continue to pursue a career as an artist going into this year. The college I attend is very important because I am looking for a strong art program as well as a sense of community. I have applied to colleges that will balance me out academically and emotionally. I thought all I was looking towards was a major in graphic design, but now there is a possibility of also pursuing a minor in theatrical design. I do not want to limit myself or my creativity by keeping myself in only one area of the arts. I cannot imagine a life without theatrical tech or just tech in general because it is not just something I like as a hobby rather something I could see myself pursuing as a career. I know it is a difficult road ahead, but I think the unknown drives me to make my path and make a name for myself. For many years, I think I have always yearned to leave a mark on this world of who I was as an artist. Now I hope my passion, determination, and my actions will speak louder than my words could ever speak. I hope my art will encourage others to step out of their comfort zones and want to create art for others as well as themselves. My future as an artist feels incredibly uncertain and sometimes unsure because art does not fit into a perfect little box. I will not give up on my passion and I have the determination to succeed. I hope to continue using art as my voice not only to create what I want but also to create lighting designs and possibly even set designs. My goal is to keep creating pieces that make people imagine, question, and experience a love for the visual arts.
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