For as long as I can remember I have always felt an immense and overwhelming feeling of sadness. I often found myself daydreaming and my mind wandering off in order to cope with this feeling. This kind of behavior left me isolated and lonely. I sought comfort in one of the only few things that brought me joy; making art. Creating art was a way for me to escape from my own feelings and create a world that I can enjoy. I so often recall memories of myself spending my free time growing up drawing on everything. In my notebooks, on my hands, in the margin of my homework. These small moments of escape made living so much more bearable, even enjoyable. I often, and still do, drew fantasy illustrations. I drew worlds where I could feel safe and do the impossible. Soon, I was known by my peers and teachers alike as the "art kid". Many people's newfound interest in my art led to me making friends. I found many people who loved making art as much as I did. I was able to create a community I felt safe and happy in. I didn't feel alone anymore. I often would stay after school to spend more time with this newfound community. My love for art was a small shining light shining through the darkness of my depression. This beacon of light was able to help guide others to me. Art has bought so much joy into my life. I hope I can bring that joy to others. This is why I'm pursuing a career in illustration. I'm currently a junior at the college for creative studies working towards a bachelor's in fine arts. I have met the most wonderful people here pursuing my bachelor's. I was able to create a support system who are there for me when my depression is at its worse. They are able to help me when I can not help myself. Often my peers and teachers are there for me when I often feel like giving up and overwhelmed by my depression. Pursuing this degree is the happiest I have felt in very a long time. I am truly able to feel like I have a future. Being able to create art has brought so much meaning to my life. I hope that one day I can create illustrations that make people happy. I want to show others that art can be a beacon of hope for them the same way it was for me.

My name is Maliyah Clark. I’m currently attending College for Creative Studies pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I am studying illustration. My dream future would be to create art to my heart's content. My passion for art and making art have been a major part of my life. For as long as I can remember, making art has given me hope. It gave me control over something, especially in a world that can make me feel powerless. My dream is to help others with my art the same way my art has helped me. My illustrations mainly consist of people of color, mostly Black people, in a fantasy setting. I want to give positivity to as many people as possible. Positivity is the same way my art and the people around me have given me. I aim to pursue a career in editorial illustration. Create children’s books and magazine illustrations that are positive and diverse. The only thing standing in my way is myself. I constantly doubt myself and my abilities. I have always had trouble imagining my future. Despite always being able to vividly imagine fantastical and exciting worlds. I have struggled with depression and staying motivated for my whole life. This often makes it hard for me to envision a future. The best way I found to combat this is by having a strong support system. My family believes in me and supports me unconditionally. My family can provide a safe space for me. A space of familiarity to be me. My friends keep me motivated and help me figure out solutions to problems that may seem overwhelming to me. They provide me with a space to help me learn more about who I am and who I want to be. I love attending College for creative studies because I can find support in the community at my school. My teachers have been amazing at giving guidance when I feel lost, confused, or frustrated about how to make a future with my art. I admire my peers too. I can confide and relate to them. They can help me grow in my artistic endeavors, while also lending their unique perspective on the world. I want this positivity and hope I receive from the people around me to shine through in my artwork. I want others to feel included and loved in a community full of people that care about them. So I hope in the future my art can do that.

My passion for art and making art have been a major part of my life. For as long as I can remember making art has given me hope. It gave me control over something, especially in a world that can make me feel powerless. Creating art has helped me so much growing up. It personally helped me cope and work through things I was struggling with. My passion helped me make new friends and create new experiences with others. I joined the National Arts Honor Society and was able to create projects in our community. I also helped other local artists to create murals around my community. I helped create the Freedom Trail Mural with the Art Boom Brigade. As well as volunteer to paint a Black lives matter mural on the street in my city. I loved being able to see the positive impact my artwork was able to make on my community. My love for art is why I decide to major in illustration. I know I want to create a career out of something I love. I have seen from my family how unfulfilling working a job you hate can be. I know I did not want to be stuck in the same situation. I want to know the work that I am doing will be able to help others. I want my artwork to give hope and positivity to others. The same way my art does for me. My illustrations mainly consist of people of color, mostly Black people, in a fantasy setting. I want to give positivity to as many people as possible, not just the people in my local community. This is why I create mainly illustrations for books and other editorial media. I create unique fantasy worlds that are not Eurocentric depictions. This is because I rarely saw people who looked like me in art. Let alone anything fantasy related. In my fantasy-based illustrations, I can transport viewers to exciting and carefree worlds. I want to show that Black people can be included in art and fantasy. Two of my favorite things that Black people are not often represented in. Representation like this helps people build a more positive view of themselves and a more hopeful outlook on the world. Especially when they can see them selfs as heroes, queens, and kings. The impact of my passion for art will have an everlasting effect on my life. I want my artwork to have a long-lasting positive impact on others. I hope that my positivity and hope will be able to last a long time.

The biggest influence in my life is my mother. ( Cliché I know.) For as long as I can remember my mother has done everything she can to support me, and my goal to become an artist. She truly is my biggest fan. My mother single-handedly raised me and my siblings. My mother would work night shifts at the hospital. She would then go straight to her morning shift at her second job. My mother’s strength, dedication, and perseverance are what I admire so much about her. That has inspired me to stay determined and motivated to reach my goals no matter what. I want my art to influence and uplift others the same way it has done for me. Even more, I want my art to inspire and motivate others the way my mother has done for me. I aim to create illustrations for publications such as magazines, children’s books, and other editorial vendors. I create art to address a problem I noticed when I was growing up. Growing up as a Black girl I felt like I rarely saw people who look like me in art, cartoons, comics, and storybooks. I know others have felt the same. Only seeing yourself as a villain, or a sidekick can make you feel unwanted. Like an afterthought or undeserving of proper representation. So, I took control into my own hands. I aim to center Black people and other people of color’s cultures in my artwork. My work is different than other attempts at diversity in art because I focus on fantasy art. Other attempts to add diversity in art aim to memic European art, instead of embracing other diverse cultures’ art. So I create fantasy art that is unique and is not Eurocentric. I’m able to show POC as more than stereotypes. I can show them as the unique individuals they are. I want people to see themselves in a positive way. To see themselves as heroes, Magicians, and adventures in a whimsical, carefree world. When you are able to see yourself in art helps build self-esteem. It helps build a positive view of yourself. I strongly believe that good representation matters. I know it will make a difference. I’ve seen the positive reactions within my community to seeing themselves in my art. I want to be able to inspire others the way my mother inspires me. My art is to motivate myself and others. I am determined to bring unique representation to my art. Like my mother, I work as hard as possible no matter watch to reach my goal.

A bright light shines through the thick, blinding fog. It clearly guides the way for the brave traveler. This gives hope that the path ahead will be much safer. Hope that she knows she wants to share with others. This piece is titled “Night Light treasure.” It reflects how precious hope can be. I wanted to show how hope can be given and shared with other people. This illustration depicts a female figure on a ladder. She’s handing a shining star to the male figure below. There is an open drawer with light shining out from it. Both the male and female figures are standing in front of a large wall of storage. The shining star is meant to represent hope. Hope can be given to anyone, Friends, family, or strangers. I created this illustration when I was feeling hopeless. I felt like many things have been out of my control. Growing up as a Black girl I felt like I rarely saw people who look like me in art, cartoons, comics, and storybooks. I know others have felt the same. Only seeing yourself as a villain, or a sidekick can make you feel unwanted. Like an afterthought or undeserving of proper representation. So, I took control into my own hands. I aim to center Black people and our culture in my artwork. Specifically in fantasy that is not Eurocentric. There is a major difference In artwork and media that has black people, in mind while being made. I’m able to show black people as more than stereotypes. I can show them as the unique individuals they are. I want Black people to see themselves in a positive way. To see themselves as heroes, Magicians, and adventures in a whimsical, carefree world. When you are able to see yourself in art helps build self-esteem. It helps build a positive view of yourself. I strongly believe that good representation matters. I know it will make a difference. I’ve seen the positive reactions within my community to seeing themselves in my art. This is my goal with my artwork. This is what I want to do with my college education. I’ll be directly giving confidence to people in the Black community. I want to give them positive representations of themselves. Hopeful even giving a more positive outlook on the world. My artwork gives me hope. I want my art to give others hope too.

Art and making art have been a major part of my life. For as long as I can remember making art has given me hope. It gave me control over something. Especially in a world that can make me feel powerless. I want my artwork to give hope and positivity to others. The same way my art does for me. My illustrations mainly consist of people of color, mostly Black people, in a fantasy setting. Growing up, I rarely saw people who looked like me in art. Let alone anything fantasy related. In my fantasy-based illustrations, I’m able to transport viewers to exciting and carefree worlds. I want to show that Black people can be included in art and fantasy. Two of my favorite things that Black people aren’t often represented in. Representation like this helps people build a more positive view of themselves and a more hopeful outlook on the world. Especially when they can see them selfs as heroes, queens, and kings. I aim to empower others and myself through my art. I hope to help Black people take control of their representation. To create a more positive and hopeful future in the world around them.

For most of my life, I struggled with depression. I went undiagnosed for many years. This made achieving my goals difficult for me. It made maintaining friendships even harder. This made the people around me perceive me as lazy or unmotived. While not understanding the struggle of doing simple tasks. I believe my depression went undiagnosed is because I struggled to identify and admit it. This is because within the Black community mental health isn't talked about enough. Noticing this, I started having conversations with family and friends. I wanted them to be proactive about their mental health. After being diagnosed with depression it helped me understand how to work through my emotions in a healthy way. If I were diagnosed sooner I would have been able to live a happier and fuller life. Learning to cope with my depression has helped me find out what I'm passionate about. One thing that constantly helped me cope with my emotions was making art. This helped me feel like I had control over something and it didn't matter how good I was at it. This is the reason I decided to pursue a career in art. I want to have a job that I always enjoy. So, even on days when doing a simple task can be hard I can still be able to do something I love.

How many Black cartoon characters can you name? I’m inspired to make art because Growing up I felt like I wasn’t often represented in art. Times there were Black characters in media or art I often couldn’t relate to them. I want to make art for Black kids to see themselves in. I want to be able to show a wide range of representation and identity through my art. This is why I’m majoring in Illustration at College for Creative Studies. I get joy out of knowing that my art can make others happy or I can encourage others to follow their dreams. I often see that in places where art communities art formed there is a lack of Black people not only in the art but behind the scenes. I not only want to push myself but others around me to make changes that matter. This scholarship would help me make this possible. Coming from a single-parent household I can’t constantly rely on my mother to help me through school. This scholarship will help me create stability now to secure a future where I can make a change.

What is the point of having a degree in art? I chose to major in illustration because growing up I felt like I was not represented in art. If there were Black characters in media or artwork I often could not relate to them. I want to make art for Black kids to see themselves in. I want to be able to show a wide range of representation and identity through my art. I also believe that the people who make media and art should be diverse. I want to be able to bring and encourage having diverse artists in the working palace. Additionally, this degree is so important because I want to be able to make a change while doing something I love. Mostly, I want to show my mom that all her unconditional love and support will pay off. I have seen what it is like for my mom to go to work at a place she does not want to be. She works two jobs to make ends meet. I aim to not live like that. I have also found the benefits of enrolling in an art school is that I am surrounded by like-minded people. Which helps me find the resources and connections to achieve my goal to make diverse art. All of this makes pursuing a degree in art completely worth it.