Aurelio J. Barrera Memorial Arts Scholarship

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon SIlva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. As I got older I realized that drawing and animation would then be my favorite thing to draw. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. Throughout my life I have had various influences that impacted my decision to pursue a career in art. It seems pretty obvious that it began early in my life that it was meant for me. Waking up to Frida Kahlo was a pretty intense experience, yet very normal. I have always been a creative person and continue to be just that. I love bringing color and design to my life. It brings out the beauty of everything around me. Now that I am in College at Cal Poly Humboldt, my environment has played a huge factor in my desire to continue to study arts. Being surrounded by so much beauty has really made me realize that there is so much beauty in this world. I can see how Georgia O’Keefe painted her world with so much love. She is another of my favorite artists and the detail she brings about the simplest things, like a flower, or a big piece like a landscape is inspiring. I want to learn new ways of creating art, not just painting, I want to learn different modalities of art. Currently I am taking a Course which will teach me how to make stamps. Learning to use different types of tools that do not include just a brush or a pencil is exciting. I want to pursue different types of art and I am hoping to achieve this at Humboldt. As I have taken the first two art classes, I have come to realize that having a little bit of spending money on my supplies is apparent. My mom is currently the only one working, she’s a teacher. My dad was in a terrible work accident and is still on permanent disability. Asking my mom for money is difficult but she always finds a way to give me what I need. I would really appreciate any help I could get.