My passion for art comes from my community. Where ever I go, I have found that my art style changes to match the community. When I was a little girl, I was abused, isolated from my family and peers, and my art style reflected that. It changed again when I moved out to live at my aunt's house, and again when I finally struggled my way into college. As a child, I was not allowed to have friends. I had to stay home and raise my siblings. Any family members that might tell me that I was being treated unfairly, that parents should not hit their children, were promptly cut off. I expressed myself through art, as all I ever received for Christmas was art supplies because that is all my parents knew that I liked enough to tell relatives, not that they ever asked. I drew constantly in my very limited free time. I drew portraits of my siblings, my parents, my sister's dog. The only beings in my life, rendered in black and white, this is what served as the foundation for my art. When I moved to my aunt's house, I was free to experiment more. I found that I liked fiber art quite a bit more than drawings. I started crocheting and eventually was one of the three spearheads of a community-based yarnbombing project. I had never had a community before. My favorite piece of art I have ever completed (attached below) is a rendition of Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night", painted on canvas, with elements created in yarn and pasted to the canvas. I replaced the shrubbery and trees in the painting with Danville landmarks. It was inspired by how the community banded together to defend its art project and the accesibility of art in general against vandalism and arson. Then I moved off to college. It was considered an amazing feat and my family was so proud. Despite missing so much formal education because of my abusive childhood, I was able to successfully educate myself to catch up with my peers. Since then, my art style has evolved again. I am experimenting my more mediums such as resin and pottery. My style is much less formed, and I am able to relax enough to create abstract pieces. With this scholarship, I would be able to stay in school. Currently, I am at risk of not being able to finish my last year due to finances. With more funding, I can stay in this community of artists who are fighting for social change, and continue to develop my style.

I was working on my community project, "The Wonderlove" campaign, and I was right in the center. I was teaching classes, working directly under the woman who organized the entire thing, meeting with Smithsonian installation artists, and organizing the community groups. What is Wonderlove, you ask? Wonderlove was a project organized by the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History where I was working. We decided to bring art to the community more directly by involving as many individual citizens and businesses in the yarnbombing of a popular trail. We essentially made sweaters for dozens of trees, fences, picnic tables, and trashcans. It took a lot of organization and hard work, during the hottest part of the day in a Virginian Summer. As part of this project, we decided to have some of the more detail-oriented people and local artists incorporate some of the yarn that we were using onto a canvas painting. I was one of those who were chosen for this special project. I decided to do a piece that incorporated the love of the community, history, and art into one piece. I analyzed the classic Van Gogh painting "Starry Night" and decided to make a piece in that style, replacing the landmarks in the painting with classic Danville landmarks. I incorporated images of the local bridge, the museum, the historical foundation, and of course the most famous symbol of Danville, the three smokestacks that make up the abandoned textile factory. This piece, to me, represents the strength of the community to rise from adversity. You see, shortly after we finished the installation of all of the community's pieces, local vandals and arsonists started lighting our trees on fire and tearing them off. But completely without supervision, community members, even those who were not involved in the installation, started a daily community walk to repair damaged pieces. The police were never able to catch the perpetrators, even using trail cameras, but through the dedication and perseverance of the community, we were able to finish out the exhibition. I finished this piece as all of this was happening. I saw how we all banded together to create and protect this enormous project. We all, hundreds of people, from the Women's Prison to the Boys and Girls club, worked together like a machine so well, that the Smithsonian Installer decided to move to Danville permanently. That is what this piece means to me.

To me, being an artist is about the power of having an impact on society using the gifts we are given, and how we use that power. In the past, humans have used that power to entertain each other. To protest and stand against the wrong doings of people onto each other. To inspire others to action. To teach. To heal. I have used mine for all of these and more, and plan to continue to do so. I get my drive from the effect I can see. I see people beginning to think about new ideas. I see children realizing that creating is not an impossible task and is in fact something they can do. I see people taking their own stand. And, perhaps selfishly, I have used it to drag myself up from my worst moments, when the act and of staying alive seemed like entire art onto itself, one that I was not trained in. I taught my baby sister to use finger paint when she was still in a high chair. We spent that entire afternoon happily creating, and my seven year old self thought that it was the best thing I had ever done, because from there she could learn to draw, and write her ABC's, and read, and learn anything she wanted. Now she is thirteen, and studying so she can apply to art school in a few years and become a manga artist. She says I inspired her by being the first person in our family to go to college. While I do not take full credit for any of this, I plan to continue to help people using the arts. I want to pursue a position in the Peace Corps, in youth and community development, so that I can use art to help children in some of the most underprivileged communities in the world. During my time at Eckerd College, I will not only be taking classes to help me secure a spot in the Peace Corp, but I will also be finding a job either at an art gallery, or preferably at the Great Explorations Children's Museum, so I can help to make art accessible to the public. The school I will attend in the fall is in St. Petersburg, a coastal town with a large wildlife population. There is a club on campus that raises awareness of the environment through art and beach clean ups. I intend to join this club and help ensure that sea creatures are there for future generations to come. My plan to give back through art does not stop after college though. When I graduate, I intend to work with the Peace Corps for three years, in the Youth-In-Development sector. It is my intention to teach the children I work with not only their basic skills, but also art based lessons to work their fine motor skills, and provide a therapeutic outlet for the suffering they have experienced. You can make all of this possible. I need funds to pay for college. My dear aunt is trying to help, but she has three kids of her own and I do not want to put her out. I cannot help the world if I cannot get to a platform where I am helpful.