Artist Statement: 
My work symbolizes my ideas of change. I can relate to the character I drew and what it is to transform. Becoming one’s best self takes time. The story of Harliquinzel is to work on one’s self, and to transform the dark to light. Becoming an anti-Villain took her years, and life experiences molded the character. Having tenacity and knowing change takes time is something I can relate to in terms of my future self.

                                                                             

Artist Statement:  
Fashion is cool, and I create ideas about my own expression of self through textiles. This is something I want for my future. I enjoy being connected in the fashion scene and creating things that no one else is wearing. For me, this feels authentic, and making things that are not bland or vanilla is exciting to consider as a profession for the future. 

I enjoy collaboration with others, inspired by other designers and especially those artists working out of sight and building their brand.  I like the idea of overlap between artists like Takahiro Miyasita and other Japanese designers such as Nobuhiko Satoh and Demna Gvasalia. This image is a pair of pants, and my mentor and I designed this together. Each day I’m taking a step towards such goals with the help of those in my school. 

Sharing my passion for fashion and art with peers is also something that allows me to think about what is possible in my future. Collaboration helps me figure out my path. Bringing my ideas from this 2D work into the round and making it wearable art in my future is happening right now!  Art helps me think about a way to move forward, just as w do when we wear such pants!

Artist/Teacher Collaboration Piece - Second statement  
Artist Statement for combined artist Anthony with Shelly B. 

The Mentorship - Shelly’s statement about helping students find their way forward. 
My work is their work, as mentor and teacher, and sharing what I have learned over my career lights me up when I see students find their way creatively with art as a potential path forward. I enjoy seeing that they can create the future they want with mentorship and taking steps forward to map out how to take one step at a time to make their future come to life.

 #3 Maddie I., age 16 & Sophia S., Age 14, "The Beauty In Nature"

Artists' Statement: 

We enjoy working together. We enjoy working together, and it makes the art room that much more interactive and interesting when we coordinate, visualize and collaborate.  We enjoy the ideas about nature and the view you get from a pond with a rocky and moss environment surrounding it. Nature and being in it is always calming, and creating an environment with our imagination together brings us to new ideas for the now and the future. 

This work is a backdrop for our little buddy called “Burrito”. He wears a cupcake necklace and is too cute to not enjoy. Everything we used was up-cycled materials, and we like to make things from stuff that otherwise would end up trash. 

We added a rainbow of glitter over the moss and the pond to create the idea of where
creativity can bring us. We believe you can never have enough glitter, laughing because we know our parents may disagree, but we can clean up after ourselves now too!

Top 3 Winners in Art 2 Category:

#1 Joslyn B., Age 15: "Me"

"Joslyn" to accompany my abstract painting "Me."

     Joy in creating art
     Obstacles to overcome
     Satisfied with my work
     Loving and Loyal
     Young and growing
     Never give up on anything!

                                                  

#2 Kiara D., Age 18, "The Tower"

Artist Statement:
This work is about plans and how they don’t always go the way you want them to. It is based on the story of Icarus, the Greek Mythological figure, who built makeshift wings out of feathers and wax to help him escape a tower he was imprisoned in.

However, his plans changed when he got too comfortable flying so close to the sun, and his wings melted, and he fell out of the sky to his demise. To me his life and death represents change. The Tower is also the name of a card in a tarot deck which represents transformation, sudden upheaval and change, which isn't always a good thing. It’s not a bad thing either, because change is the only thing promised in life, so we need to embrace the different ways it transforms.

I realize that change is a constant, and I’m trying to go with it instead of against it.  My plans often change abruptly, and the only way to be okay with this is to keep myself balanced and meet life where it’s at. I keep my balance through making art, and this has been a compass for me. 

I want to use my gifts to keep my path moving forward and also stay strong in the process.

Art helps me create space to process my life and flow with it.

                                                 

#3 Ava K., Age 19, "Transformation"

Artist Statement: 

Painting connects me to my grandfather. He taught me how to paint years ago. I watched and learned.
    
Art has been a way through my life as long as I can recall. It’s a way of transforming and processing life. 

This image speaks to beauty in everyday moments. 

Appreciating the beauty we can create and connecting to myself through the arts is important to me.

                                                                         

Poetry Submission Winners

#1 Sophia S., Age 14, "Learning Me"

Learning to lower my mask and survive my days 

I don't mean to hide in a dishonest ways 

Fearing you may not understand 

Echoes in my head, my mask in hand 

Internal struggles you would never guess 

Social cues cause me distress 

How the path unfolds is not always clear 

Agony is a pain I fear 

Razor sharp focus, honing in on my truth 

Discovering what’s for me is sometimes hard see 

Buying my time escaping reality’s grasp 

Uniting my choices forgetting the past 

Tick tock tick tock the clock begins to pick up force 

Testing my limits and setting my course 

Hazard warnings, fighting the alarms in my head 

Analyzing words to understand 

Talking it out to understand 

Starting over with fresh perspective again 

Learning to take a breath and just let it all go 

In pursuit of calmer days ahead 

For I imagine possibilities as following my threads 

Everything unfolding, it's exciting to see

This is my story of learning to be me!