It was my third day of work when I found myself in a situation where I performed CPR on a young man. In previous years face painting, babysitting, and selling art were always the highlights of my summer season. In July of 2023, I started my first job ever as a lifeguard at Peninsula Pool. I was excited to work in the medical field, it was something new and different from the more creative paths I usually took. However, I soon realized the responsibility of my job. I was at the Willamette River’s docks when a man had for unknown reasons gone under the waves and swallowed a lot of water. When me and my friends first heard screaming I knew what was going on immediately. Shaking off the shock, I handed a friend my phone with 911 already punched in, and scrambled over the rocky shore. When I reached him cold and unconscious, I gave compressions while other bystanders gave him breaths for 14 minutes. I went home that night and could not fall asleep. I imagined the man, a little older than me with blue-tinted lips, half-open eyes, and my hands interlaced on his chest. I dreaded returning to the pool the next day. This experience did not feel like a heroic story to me. The fact that this unknown person had been in so much danger was enough to overshadow any feelings of pride I had. It took me a lot of time for me to feel normal again. That summer, all I could think about was what I could have done better. It took me the rest of the summer to process and come to accept that I could not change that day by the brown and glittering water. Since I was a child, I was always labeled shy. I was not one to start up conversations, had a soft voice and I absolutely hated talking in front of groups of people. I spent all of middle school and high school trying to be rid of this label, it made me feel weak. I spent a lot of time pushing my comfort level by voluntarily sharing thoughts with large classes and even becoming a leader of my own club during my senior year. Providing CPR on a real person felt like a turning point for what I doubted I could undertake. Slowly summer days got shorter, and I came to an understanding. This event had been very emotionally impactful, and I never had left any room to be proud of myself. Looking back at my seconds of hesitation on the docks with kinder eyes was something I could finally do. This event was quite challenging to process, but in the end, it is an indisputable reminder that I am more than able to act in difficult situations.

I pull the squeegee across my screen. Light blue paint smears on the paper, overlapping with brown and green hills. Revolver font reads Cowgirl Town. My poster is complete. My love for art originally started from the happiness it gave me. How eye-catching color could be, how each medium felt in my hand. It was not until highschool that I fully understood the power art has to enhance one’s voice and make an impact beyond child-like joy. I started making art for Cowgirl Town without thinking about it much. I simply wanted to construct a place where women were in charge. I was in the midst of growing up in a male dominated high school, and Cowgirl Town was a means of creative escape. Cowgirl Town is a fictional location populated by women. All kinds of women make up the bankers, sheriff, and most importantly, cowboys of this western valley. I have drawn pictures of the wild west scenery, written stories of the town folk, and even made fake promotional art for this concept of mine. It felt comforting to take such a machismo concept like the wild west and flip it on its head. I realized that making art in this way is how I positively change my community, and people's understanding of what being a woman means. I want to continue creating narratives like this one. Where social normalities are challenged through meaningful, beautiful and striking imagery. In the future I see myself working in a creative environment, producing media that empowers underserved communities. By attending the University of Oregon next year as an art major I hope to sharpen my creative skills so I may reach this creative goal, and alter the world around me for the better.

When I trace back where my love for art comes from, memories of my parents arise first. My parents are both high school educators, and artists themselves. My mom would often take my downtown as a child to the extensive and sterile art museum and to the smaller local galleries. She loved to talk about the history behind the pieces, and although I was an easily distractible eight year old I would listen intently. I remember watching my dad glaze ceramic bowls in the backyard while my mom painted large watercolors of ladies with stylish shoes and curly hair like hers. Because I have watched them make art for my whole life, my parents are a strong point of creative guidance for me. However the first art form I connected with truly on my own was graphic novels. Sitting on my scratchy living room carpet I found joy in those books. As a young kid I was so drawn to the bright colors and stylized lines. Flipping the glossy paper felt like straight artistic nourishment. I read and re-read the ones I borrowed from friends and was gifted by family, and soon I wanted to make my own. I started to practice drawing all the time, trying to replicate the perfect cross hatching within the panels. Slowly I went from using markers, to using graphite, to using ink. Graphic novels were the gateway into painting, printmaking, and many other disciplines that I now love. I have a very special place in my heart for illustration as it is the first time I imagined myself pursuing a creative career. My affection for the humanities has only grown stronger as I have aged, branching out into many different mediums. Nonetheless, one thing that has stayed constant is that Jen Wang, author and illustrator of In Real Life, and Stargazing has always been my favorite artist. Ever since fourth grade, Jen Wang has been my driving force to continue drawing. Her work is compositionally brilliant, as the storyboards have a great sense of flow. Her body of work exhibits a cohesive pastel color scheme that is easily recognizable as hers. Wang takes the idea of graphic novels past simple superhero normalities into important narratives. Her characters explore challenges with identity, revolution, and relationships, all while surrounded by breathtaking scenery and fashion. Her stories have opened-up my understanding of the LGBTQ community, as well as helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin. Wang’s books remind me of my own childhood nostalgia, while still holding up under current criteria of aesthetic competence and social commentary. My love for art originates from the artistic role models I grew up with. My parents and childhood authors/illustrators taught me visual art is a powerful tool. It can evoke prominent emotions in people with its messages, mood, and even with the simplest compositions. This is why it is such a valuable tool for protest and advocacy. I am determined to sharpen my artistic skills at the University of Oregon so that I may take after Jen Wang, by using art to tell fantastical stories that deserve to be heard.

The fifth image I have uploaded in the portfolio dropbox is my favorite. It is a painting that illustrates a one point perspective of a staircase under a colorful archway. In this piece I challenged myself with scale. The canvas is 4’ by 3’ and I aimed to create an image that conveyed the feeling of returning home from work. I work as a lifeguard at my local community center and I find the pool inspiring. The atmosphere of the pool and my home sometimes feel very similar in their sense of community. I strived to emphasize the warmth of my entryway, where my mom always lights incense before I walk in the door. I worked my senior year on a body of work that showcases liminal spaces that spark familiarity and I feel like this piece is my strongest conceptually. I aimed to create a transitional place between home and my job, wrapping the pool and hallway up in an heirloom quilt that in reality hangs on the wall in our dining room. I kept revisiting it, layering over and over until I realized that I needed to limit my color palette to achieve fluidity and cohesion. Most of all, I enjoyed painting all those colorful triangles from my quilt onto the canvas, and I am pleased with the final color scheme.

I am driven to make art and find a way to brighten people’s lives and communities through it. I have participated in many activities in high school like playing softball, working as a lifeguard, and leading my own club, and through these activities I have discovered that my passion for the humanities shines out the most. I am on a search to form a life filled with creativity and social justice, where I use art to help people and enrich my community. The truth is, making art gives me hope. My artwork is how I express my love for my home, my exhaustion from work, and my appreciation for people meaningful to me. Making art has become a lifestyle, sketching in the classroom, at home, and even doodling on notepads at my job. When I take out oil pastels and acrylics I could spend hours just processing my day, and my life through color and texture. It’s extremely therapeutic but also challenging. With a life full of school, extracurriculars and work commitments it can be hard to find time to sit down and get into a creative flow, which is why my art classes like screen printing and AP art are such enjoyable spaces. They serve as a designated time for me to paint and work with mixed media. My art is primarily inspired by places that are meaningful to me, like my home and workspace at the community center, and how to express them in a non-literal way. I like using bright colors to mimic the bright emotions one feels when entering a place of familiarity. As I near the end of my high school experience, I feel there is so much more to explore in the fine arts and illustration, especially since I aim to make these interests my career. My goal for the next four years is to achieve a bachelors degree in fine art, and one day get my MFA. My dream job is to work in a collaborative environment, producing media, like graphic novels and/or interactive art experiences, with other artists. I believe that storytelling has a profound impact on people’s outlooks. Subconsciously the content people consume can create bias and narrow perspectives towards groups that are not the dominant culture. Furthermore, creating media representing marginalized communities in a way that breaks down these damaging stereotypes is extremely important. I love drawing and writing to create joy and color, but I recognize that these skills can also be used as tools to educate others. I've seen how artists and activists overlap passions to make each other stronger and I want to be a part of that. At the end of the day, I am passionate about discovering what makes myself and others happy in life and spending as much time and energy on it as I can. Building connections and being creative are some of the most important reasons to live. I know I can use my art to brighten my community's lives, and that goal is what pushes me to take my future and a career in the arts seriously.

I am determined to always make art, and find a way to brighten people’s lives and communities through it. I have participated in many activities in high school like playing softball, working as a lifeguard, and leading my own club, but I’ve recognized through them all that my passion for the humanities shines out the most. I am on a search to form a life filled with creativity and social justice, where I use art to help people and enrich my community. As I near the end of my high school experience, and feel there is so much more to explore in the fine arts and illustration, personally, as well as, a career path. My dream job is to work in a collaborative environment, producing media, like graphic novels and/or interactive art experiences with other artists. I feel that storytelling and many other types of media have a strong impact on people’s viewpoints. Subconsciously the content people consume can create bias and narrow perspectives towards groups that are not dominant culture. I believe that making media representing LQBTQ folks and racial minorities in a way that breaks down these damaging stereotypes is extremely important. I love drawing and writing to create joy and color, but I recognize that these skills can also be used as tools to educate others. By furthering my education with an art major I envision myself making books, murals, and stories that open people's understanding to groups different to them. As a queer woman seeing portrayals of people like me on tv and in books is super impactful. I know a career as an artist is competitive and challenging, and even if the degree of creativity in my future jobs is not overtly saturated I know that no matter what I will always have an art-making practice in my personal life. Lately, I have enjoyed experimenting my mixed media, with watercolor being a strong element in each piece. I hope in the future to dive deeper into college as a medium. Making artwork on a bigger scale has always been a goal that I strive for, and during both pre and post-college, I want to make some huge collage pieces with watercolor as the main medium. Making cards for Valentine's Day is when I realized I really enjoy college. Layering pink hues of tissue paper and glue as if it were cake simply gave me so much inspiration. I am looking forward to exploring how college and social justice can meld. To reach my future educational and career goals, I have participated in many artistic extracurriculars. I visit a figure drawing studio every other weekend and have taken multiple art courses at both the Boedecker Foundation and PNCA College. These extra steps have helped me get honorable mentions in scholastic art awards and win many school-based competitions, having my work in the Portland Art Museum. I am ready and excited to explore mixed media as a personal art form as well as a career.

The everyday world inspires me through the spaces I inhabit, the love I experience with my family, and my experience living in a city. My home and the community center where I work are both places very significant to me. To explore that significance this year I have been working on my AP art portfolio following the leading question, “Why are places in my life so meaningful to me and how can I express them non-literal way?” Throughout this project I have observed in more detail the architecture of all these spaces, working with acrylics, pastels, and colored pencils into delicate collages of my loved environments. Making art seems to amplify my endearment for little everyday things, like the cozy green pattern of the carpet on my stairs or how the diving board at work makes a loud cracking noise every time someone jumps from it. I try to take inspiration from my gloomy city, even though I enjoy painting sun-soaked scenes much more. The water washes down my car window just long enough to admire before being splashed smooth by the wipers. I watch my peers walk off the public bus adorned in raincoats and I remember that one shade of yellow until I can replicate it on watercolor paper. There is no way to create art without drawing from everyday life. Juxtaposed to Portland Oregon, the dry landscapes of New Mexico are what I find the most intriguing. I try to push myself to paint landscapes I’ve visited in the Southwest and dip into the concept of what Western art looks like, despite living in such a rainy place.