For me, art is a valuable means of building a personal record of visual imagery and a means of visually communicating the things I am passionate about. It wasn’t until entering college that I realized that most people could picture scenes in their minds, I lack a mind’s eye, which is known as aphantasia. Working with my hands in different mediums, such as clay or paint, allows me to slow down, and focus on observation of the details felt in different objects or seen in moments and photographs. As I create art, I develop more descriptions of what I am seeing, allowing me to retain more information about subjects such as landscapes seen on family travels, or the natural subjects I have seen or studied in biology courses. I am currently preparing for my senior exhibition, which is focused on Whooping Cranes, one of the two endangered bird species in Kansas, my home state. They pass through the Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands on their migratory route. Whooping Cranes have a remarkable conservation success story with their population being a mere 21 in 1944 and has now risen to around 800. I am depicting whooping cranes in a few mediums, including wood sculpture, and a life-size woodblock print of a whooping crane with its wings spread. I am working on a watercolor surrealism series based on parallels between the behaviors of Whooping Cranes and people. Behaviors such as the way cranes and humans play, call to each other, and exhibit relaxed social behaviors, known in birds as “loafing”. I am merging images of people in urban settings with Whooping Cranes. By combining mundane scenes with something unfamiliar, I hope viewers will take a second look at the cranes and ponder their significance. One piece is titled "Crane Concerto", it combines the concert hall lobby at my university, my cousin playing piano, and two cranes performing a mating dance. I am implementing similar lighting on figures and painting the interiors to have flooded floors to bring in a sense of habitats merging. This painting represents my progress with watercolor and combines my passion for wildlife with beautiful glimpses into the everyday lives of both people and animals. In 2022 I worked as a gallery assistant at the Mulvane Art Museum. I assisted with school group tours. It was interesting to see children’s reactions to exhibitions, their joy in pointing out details in art, and their excitement as they created art projects for themselves in the art lab. During the fall of 2023, I interned at Fire Me Up Ceramics, a ceramics studio and gallery in Topeka, Kansas. Through the experience, I witnessed the impact art could have on a community, as artists of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels came to the studio to attend workshops or work independently with rented studio spaces. I found joy in the behind-the-scenes processes that help with studio management, such as cleaning after events, operating kilns, mixing glazes and recycling clay using a pugmill. I found that helping others in their process of making artwork can be just as, if not more satisfying than producing my artwork. I learned the importance of refining my hand-building or wheel-throwing techniques so that I could better teach to others. As I am entering my final year of college, I am working to complete art for my exhibition, which I plan to also use for an application to graduate school. It is my intention after graduating with a BFA to pursue a Master of Fine Arts to continue my artistic and professional growth, and eventually become an art professor.

I have loved animals and spending time outdoors since I was a young girl. In elementary school, I was fascinated with reading about different species and subjects such as geology. I had my heart set on following in my mother’s footsteps and becoming a park ranger. However, in high school, I fell in love with art, and the process of creating work with different mediums. I entered college to study art and biology. I intended to pursue scientific illustration, but I have switched my focus to fine art after researching the efforts made by contemporary artists to raise appreciation, awareness, and funding for different environmental conservation efforts. In one of my courses this past year I had the opportunity to create a series of ceramic vessels that reflect the form of aspen trees. Aspen trees exhibit a behavior called root suckering, in which multiple trunks are interconnected into a single clonal organism, also called an aspen stand. I made large wheel thrown forms with carved areas to reflect the inner and outer layers of foliage on trees. I made vases and footed bowls that reflected the silhouette of aspen trees and each vessel was made to reflect the form of a ceramic plot of an aspen stand. These pieces were then placed on lighted wood bases to illuminate the pieces and had a wood-burned pattern reflecting roots. Another species I have been researching is Whooping Cranes which I plan to make the focus of my senior exhibition in the following year. Whooping Cranes are one of the two endangered bird species in Kansas where I live. They pass through the Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands in western Kansas on their migratory route in the spring and fall. Whooping Cranes have a remarkable conservation success story with their population rising from 21 in 1944 and now over 800 with the combined numbers in the western flock, eastern flock, and captive population. Whooping cranes are intelligent birds that display fascinating social behaviors and form lifelong bonds. Using Watercolor, I am working on a surrealism series based on parallels between Whooping Cranes' behaviors and people's. Behaviors such as the way cranes and humans play, call to each other, and exhibit relaxed social behaviors, known in birds as “loafing”. I am merging photographs I have taken of people I know in urban settings, with photos of Whooping Cranes. I am implementing similar lighting on the figures and painting the interiors to have flooded floors to create a sense of merging habitats. I hope that by taking a scene with a sense of mundanity and merging it with something unfamiliar, people will take a second glance at the cranes in the scene and wonder what is important about them. In the future, I plan to make other series of artwork focusing on different species and environments with realism and surrealism. It is my goal to promote conservation efforts through aesthetic appreciation, introducing people to wonders of the natural world may not have seen before, and by presenting accompanying information. I think there are many opportunities through showing art online, entering exhibitions, and applying for residencies, in which I may have the opportunity to teach about scientific subjects through the arts. It is my intention after graduating with a BFA to pursue a Master of Fine Arts to continue my artistic and professional growth, and eventually become an art professor.

I fell in love with art during high school classes including design, painting, drawing, photography, and ceramics. I enjoyed drawing still lives and doing small paintings in sketchbooks that I would take with me to various events. During my junior year of high school, I got a watercolor palette and fell in love with the way that an image is formed in vibrant translucent layers. I used watercolor to create small paintings for family and friends, and it gave me joy to create art that made others happy. During my senior year of high school, I took AP Studio Arts, for which I chose watercolor as my primary medium. I began to put more consideration into what I wanted to accomplish with my art. I have always loved animals and the outdoors since I was a young girl and my previous “dream job” had been to become a park ranger. I discovered artists who have done natural park artist residencies and began to explore ways people have used art to promote environmental conservation. I created a series that merged endangered and threatened wildlife with urban settings I encountered during my days in high school. My goal was that by putting wildlife into scenes where they would not naturally occur, people would question why they were there and might consider what was important about the animals shown. One piece that was special to me from that series was a self-portrait I did, with a lynx emerging from my laptop. I created a composition merging several reference photos and used a dark blurred black-to-green background to emphasize the main subjects. It showed my progress with watercolor and what I had learned about color theory. That piece titled “Laptop Lynx” was one in my portfolio that I think strongly helped my scholarship applications and allowed me to have my first showing of my artwork at a small local gallery and a regional art exhibition. In college, I have had many experiences that have allowed me to find community in art. I have assisted with workshops at Washburn’s high school art day and met others who are considering degrees in art. For one year, I worked at the Mulvane Art Museum and was able to be a gallery assistant and assist in their art lab with workshops for younger kids. This past fall I got to do an internship at a local ceramics studio, and learned from the experience that I enjoy helping others produce art as much as producing my work. I enjoyed learning tasks that a “ceramic technician” would perform such as loading/ unloading kilns, mixing glazes, pugging clay, and maintaining an organized studio environment. I saw how art could create a community as people gathered in the studio space to appreciate others' art, purchase art, share techniques, and participate in workshops. I will graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio arts and a minor in biology either in fall 2024 or spring 2025. The subjects in biology courses have inspired my work, and I want research to accompany my pieces. I have done a series of realistic watercolor birds and I hope to do an extended watercolor series about whooping cranes as part of my senior exhibition. My current goal post-graduation is to pursue a Master of Fine Arts, I know I still have a lot of room to grow my skills in painting and learn about developing a professional practice. There are several studio positions and residency options that I am hoping to apply for. My long-term goal is to become an art professor.

I have loved animals and spending time outdoors since I was a young girl. In elementary school, my “dream job” was to follow in my mom’s footsteps and become a park ranger. In high school I discovered watercolor, I fell in love with its luminosity and how an image is formed with translucent layers. My focus in college became art; I relate my artwork to concepts I have learned from biology courses, in hopes of promoting conservation through spreading awareness and appreciation of natural subjects. In the summer of 2022, I took a course at Washburn University titled Art of Landscape in which students chose a medium to do artwork en plein air. I found that painting from live subjects forced me to develop a secondary style looser than my typical realism. I spent less time mixing shades and more time observing the hues in a landscape, using pure colors from my palette, resulting in brighter-colored shadows and foliage. During the past year, I discovered the term "aphantasia”, which is a lack of the mind’s eye. I previously thought of imagination as only an inner monologue of concepts and did not realize that most people can picture scenes in their minds. This discovery reshaped my view of my process. I have always enjoyed observational drawing, and I have come to realize that live drawing allows me to have better spatial and muscle memory for depicting subjects. Creating smaller landscapes directly from life can inspire larger pieces without needing other reference material. I know some people dislike realism or imitative art due to the perspective of “Why make art of something you can take a photo of”. However, for me, art is a way of building a personal record of visual imagery of the world that I cannot actively visualize.

I aspire to promote conservation through my art. I am a junior at Washburn University working towards a BFA in Studio Arts and Minor in Biology. These interests can be combined by becoming a park ranger, studio artist, or scientific illustrator. My favorite medium is watercolor, and I enjoy painting landscapes and wildlife. My exploration of these subjects began my senior year when I took AP Studio Art and had to create a themed portfolio. I portrayed wildlife in urban areas I encountered in high school, to remind us of the need to consider the environment in our daily lives. I painted realistic subjects into surrealistic scenes, this can be seen in a watercolor I titled “Laptop Lynx.” In college, I am continuing this series and considering what makes an environmental scene more impactful; an animal in its natural habitat or is it more memorable to see one that’s visiting our habitat? My aim is to increase knowledge of the natural world by creating memorable scenes of different habitats and species, accompanied by informational descriptions. I began working as a gallery assistant at the Mulvane Art Museum in the fall of 2021. One of the museum’s exhibitions was titled “sustainability” and showcased works of landscapes and animals. When schools had field trips to the museum they would be given a brief talk about the exhibition and then we did a collage activity where they could create their own landscapes. This activity showed me how art could be a visual and tactile method of teaching kids the importance of the natural world. One time I saw a little girl who was covering her paper in sequins and yellow dots, she told me “there should be lots of bees.” This shows how elementary children can interpret what is important for a landscape and encourages an interest in STEM. I am currently taking an en plein air summer class which is challenging me to find interesting focal points and make my subjects more appealing using contrast and vibrancy. I am hoping to use my current work of landscapes and wildlife to make an application for a national park artist residency. This program allows artists to be inspired by the landscape of the park, and then create artwork and art demonstrations that inspire and inform others about national parks. I hope to create beautiful art that allows our world to remain beautiful.

Transitioning into adulthood comes with a lot more responsibility to care for your own well-being. In college there are more options for what you want to eat, where you want to go, and most important, how you want to spend your time. The most impactful thing I have learned regarding self-care is that it is isn't that we don't have enough time for it, but we have prioritized other things as more important. During my freshman year I was not good at practicing self-care, my sleep schedule was inconsistent, I was unorganized and skipped meals. I realized that the first changes I needed to make were to meet my body's basic needs; sleep, food, water. I have been trying to get 6-8 hours of sleep a night, stay hydrated, and make sure to have snacks in my backpack or car. It can be difficult to be consistent even with these basic tasks, but I've come to realize how important they are for having the energy needed to focus on other tasks. I have been trying to exercise more consistently. In high school I was more athletic, but then I had over a year where I didn't get much intentional physical activity. I have developed some issues with my hearing that make going to the gym uncomfortable, but I have found some workout routines I can do at home and outside. I enjoy going on walks more at nearby parks and going on bike rides. I enjoy spending time outdoors and I have gained more self-confidence by exercising. I have learned to make time for my hobbies, including art, gardening, and reading. I try to schedule some time for myself and be more intentional with it. I know this has benefits on both my physical and mental health.

In high school I began taking art classes, at first, I took them as an elective, something to fill my time. Then my art classes became the thing I looked forward to most each day, I enjoyed the quiet hours spent drawing, and I received encouragement from teachers that complimented my artwork. I started with drawing and photography, and later took classes in ceramics, metalsmithing, and painting. I realized that art was one of the sole activities that allowed me to enter a “flow state” where I lost track of time and enjoyed every moment of creating a new work of art. I enjoy tactile learning, the feel of paint, of molding clay with my hands. I also began enjoying going to galleries, viewing the work of other artists. I realized that viewing a beautiful work of art could help me relax, and help people find beauty even during tough times. During my junior year of high school, I discovered watercolor. I ordered a small palette, began to practice, and immediately loved it. I love the look of watercolor, the way an image is formed with overlapping transparent layers, and I think it captures light in a more interesting way than other mediums. That year I made a watercolor painting that won my first art competition, the NASAO Aviation Art Contest, for the senior category in Kansas. My senior year I took AP Studio Arts, in that class, we had to create a themed portfolio using any medium of our choice. I primarily used watercolor and experimented with other water-soluble mediums including gouache, ink, and even coffee. I began to consider what I wanted to convey in my art. For that portfolio, I decided to show my love for nature by portraying wildlife in urban areas I encountered during a day of high school. I included some endangered species which serve as a reminder of the need to consider the environment in our daily lives. I wanted to paint more realistic subjects, but assembled them into a surrealistic scene, this can be seen in a watercolor I titled “Laptop Lynx.” That summer I was able to have my first gallery show, and many people encouraged me to keep pursuing art. I am currently working towards a BFA in studio arts at Washburn University and a minor in environmental biology. I think the main benefit of an art degree is that you get feedback from professors who have succeeded as artists. I have learned to appreciate criticism and even long for it, rather than being told my work is good, I appreciate it when my professors point out the flaws in my work so that I can improve. I enjoy challenging myself to create bigger projects and explore new mediums, last semester I attempted a woodworking project for a 3D design class. I created a life-size model of a red fox from pine boards, it was incredibly challenging, but I learned how to use more power tools and had a lesson in patience, with the many hours spent sanding. My favorite medium continues to be watercolor; I enjoy painting landscapes and have learned new techniques such as paint splattering and salt which have helped me create more interesting visual textures. In the last year, I have been considering how I combine my love of biology and art and am now considering scientific illustration as a career option. I have been working to create more realistic wildlife and botanical paintings with watercolor. Receiving this scholarship would help me have the funds to complete my degree and pursue a career in art.

Growing up I have had several health problems that led me to feeling isolated and being depressed. Starting in fourth grade I developed functional abdominal pain that led me to miss school frequently and transfer to virtual school. I found several hobbies that I enjoy, such as reading, plants, art, and volunteering with animals. However, even though I am a introvert and enjoy time by myself, I still felt lonely. It took me several years to realize that isolating myself from others was increasing my stress and pain. I began to meet up with friends more often and also joined my church’s youth group. Spending time with friends helped me become more optimistic by getting outside more often, having people to laugh with and have deeper conversations about what I was going through. This is the same way I was able to cope in 2020 when the pandemic hit and my senior year abruptly ended. Talking with others and more importantly listening to the experiences of other people has helped me realize that whatever tough times I am going through, I am not alone. There are others who have experienced the same problems I have, and have overcome them. In college I attend classes in-person and have continued to remain optimistic by participating in social activities. I have a new bible study group with people I have become close with. I am able to meet up with people for coffee, to play games, and to hang out in hammocks on campus. There are still times when school and unforeseen circumstances lead to high stress, but I know that isolation only makes things worse. I have family I can talk with, professors and friends, I have people I can ask for help and people that I can offer help to.

My favorite artwork is a painting titled “Woodland Cathedral” created by the UK watercolorist Richard Thorn. I discovered this beautiful work of art in a watercolor class I took last year at Washburn University. I was stunned by the realism of Richard thorn’s work, especially in “Woodland Cathedral.” He has a consistent style of using very saturated colors, in this watercolor painting there are bright tones of green, yellow, and blue throughout the painting. The colors in this scene make it a bit surreal and idyllic, but it still appears very realistic from a distance with the detail achieved through visual textures. A lot of these textures are considered “accidental” and were created with techniques such as paint throwing, and splattering. The line of the hill leads the viewer’s eye down towards the bright blue area of river. There are strong highlights in the river and the sky is nearly white which makes the bright yellow leaves stand out against it. This piece shows Richard Thorn’s signature style of using dark blues and purples as shadows, as shown in the dark trunks and tree branches. The light through the trees in the lefthand side of this painting really stands stand out. I think watercolor has a beautiful way of depicting light through transparent layers. Watercolor is a challenging medium since you must work from light to dark and it is hard to correct any mistakes. Although in Richard thorn’s painting he does use some gouache to add lighter details after the initial watercolor layers. This piece has a very bright mood and atmosphere through the use of vivid colors. This piece beautifully depicts nature and inspired my love of the watercolor medium. I have practiced incorporating some of Richard thorn’s techniques into my own watercolor landscapes.

One of my favorite hobbies is plants, specifically indoor gardening. I started collecting houseplants four years ago, but it wasn’t until 2020 and the covid-19 pandemic that I became more interested in them. I checked out a few books related to indoor plants and began to learn why many people collect them, and learn the names of different species. The book “How to make a houseplant love you” by Summer Rayne Oakes was the first time I had heard the term “horticulture therapy” mentioned. I didn’t understand at the time how gardening could be considered as a form of therapy. I learned that plants provide visual interest to indoor spaces and having plants in a room can help people relax. This relates both to the calming green color of plants and the "Biophilia" concept that humans have an innate desire to make connections with other forms of nature. Plants provide living elements in a space and give people something to take care of, something to nurture and grow along with you. I joined a couple houseplants groups on social media and it was interesting to watch the spike of interest in house plants that occurred during quarantine. Plants were able to provide some consistency back into people lives as they got plants and developed schedules to care for them. During 2020 my collection of plants grew from around 10 to 50 plants in my bedroom. I learned that even though some species are more expensive, they could be found at cheaper prices through greenhouse sales, farmers markers and buy, sell, trade, groups. I have come to really enjoy taking care of my plants, and I think repotting plants, and “getting your hands dirty” is a very relaxing experience. I have made applications to a couple local greenhouses and I hope that I can have that as a part time job one day. In 2021 I researched terrariums and how to set up a bioactive terrarium for a reptile. I have a pet crested gecko, and in the summer of 2021 I worked to set up a planted tank for him. This experience allowed me to learn about how nature centers and zoos incoporate the needs of specific species into setting up an enclosed environment. I enjoyed choosing which species of plants to include, reading about moss and the hands on experience of making drainage layers in a tank and placing the plants. I am currently hoping to incorporate my interest in plants in my biology minor by taking classes in botany next year. In 2022 I have started to develop an interest in scientific illustration and have started doing some artwork of houseplants. I am a studio arts major and for my drawing 2 class I made a colored pencil realistic drawing that combined a skeleton with 15 species of houseplants. My professor seemed surprised when I was able to recall the scientific name of each type I drew.