As an artist, the term “inspiration” is key to everything that we do. We create art because we ourselves are inspired, and because we seek to inspire thoughts, feelings, and action in others who view our art. When I began my career as an artist, I did so because I was inspired and wanted to inspire others by making beautiful things. Growing up, my mother filled our house from floor to ceiling with books, ranging from vintage to contemporary literature. My favorite books were the illustrated children’s books, and I would sit for hours reading and drinking in the images flowing from page to page. I immediately started planning and collecting for my own personal library, which takes up most of my room to this day. My mother, a watercolor artist herself, saw my love for the pictures and challenged me to start creating my own art. She handed me some of her old painting supplies and turned me loose into the artistic world that I live in today. I laugh now at all of the hopeful and frustrating paintings that I made at first, which she dutifully kept for me over the years. She always encouraged me and showed me new ways to get better and better. Today she is still my biggest supporter and strongest critic; she is who encourages me with the vision of my art being able to inspire others someday. When I finally got up the courage to enroll in an illustrative art program for college, I was surprised by how much of my peers’ art was personal expression rather than inspirational material. Much of it was dark, horror, gothic, and gore, and did not seem to have much of point for the audience. I remember thinking in one specific class my sophomore year, “If this was the type of illustration in the books I had growing up, there is no way that I would have wanted to be an artist.” I absolutely believe that personal expression has its place in an artist’s life, as well as there being value in an artist choosing to depict darker and sadder things in life. However, if there is not the deeper purpose of hoping to inspire the audience, then I believe that art is missing out on its greatest treasure and appeal. Inspiration is the main goal of my own art. Since I am most inspired by beautiful things around me, my hope is that by creating my own beautiful things I can inspire others positively in turn. I hope that what I do inspires others to go even farther than me – after all, that is how society truly grows and improves. I want to do this primarily through children’s books, since they are very near and dear to my own story, but also because I think that they can help shape a person’s core personality in a way that few other things can. I also have many interests outside of children’s books, which I believe falls more into the category of studio art. With these art pieces it is still my goal to have the beauty of my subject material and execution reach my audience and inspire greatness in them. I believe that my story, though it may not be as dramatic as some, is positive and inspiring in its own right. I was just an average kid who loved looking at books and was given the encouragement to funnel that love into something greater. Even though I was not perfect or a one-hit-wonder on the first try, I persevered and kept on pursuing my dream. Now, as I am in my last year in college, I am looking more than ever into how I best want to give that same inspiration and power to other people. I believe that my art and my story can do just that, and I am excited to see where my art takes me and others! https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RYPKhhBlYfADm4p8Shv9lpYzbsDzRo_o&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ODlL2rZNP3Q472iHR_3q9LS9BSXijMHz&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_J2_IqL1MBOmI-_kEMJAaNlRoi8LYF2D&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1czk-w-kSLWUbhNN4b0sCuSR3P_--9Ohv&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=13iQovC5CP_Ahfg4Iueq32ratcCh9NETY&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Nsk2dPV4_GwoWPjt6lHvPaY-YSWgiHb-&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gCNGKM7qpzdlrRPsbfZ7OhFdWKMm8wFR&usp=drive_copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kp12CLKVijUT5GG-Xzmwf7utx7p_borN&usp=drive_copy

"WACK YOU WITH MY RADISH" By Mandy Davila When I go to sleep at night, I hold a radish close and tight. If I hear a step go creak, Or a tiny mouse go squeak, BOOM! I’ll wack it with my radish! People watch and think it’s strange They whisper I must be deranged But their gasps and shudders I ignore ‘cause when my parents start to snore, SLAP! I’ll wack them with my radish! Neighbors say that I’m a creep, But I reply, “I need my sleep!” And if I hear a baby cry, Whine and squeal, no reason why, BAM! I’ll wack him with my radish! The doctors think that I’m absurd, But perhaps they haven’t heard In order to get a good night’s rest, Wacking with radishes has proved the best!

One of my favorite pieces of artwork that I have done is a pen and ink representation of Marilyn Monroe. This piece is special to me because of all that it represents in my life, both as a person and as an artist. To me, it encompasses new experiences, nostalgia, overcoming challenges, and finding my own niche as an artist. When I started pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Art Illustration, I was incredibly nervous. The college that I was enrolled in did not require an artist portfolio before admittance into the program – they figured that if you were any good you would either sink or swim. Everyone around me encouraged me to pursue my dream of being an artist, but I still had doubts. What if I was not good enough? What if I failed? One of my first classes as a freshman was an oil painting class. I spent the first couple of weeks of that class crying, tearing my hair out, and generally feeling like a failure as an artist. I had never used oil paints before, and they just were not cooperating on the canvas the way that I wanted them to. I can honestly say that I was only happy with one painting in that class. I began the next semester with a renewed sense of determination, but not a greater sense of confidence. This next class was called Mixed Media, and it was all about exploring different materials to use as an artist. Our professor for this class was amazing. He was one of the most encouraging and talented artists that I have ever had the privilege of learning from. He kept drawing me out of my mindset of needing to be perfect, and I gradually became more comfortable inside my own skin as an artist. One assignment that he gave us was to draw a portrait using dip pens and India ink. This was an entirely new media for me, and I was afraid that my project would turn out to be a flop. I chose a picture of the actress Marilyn Monroe because I had grown up with my family watching classic old films. Because of that, I fell in love with the look and feel of old film and 20th century actors and actresses. My professor looked at my reference photo and said, “That piece will be absolutely amazing if you do it right”. I decided then and there that I would do my best to show that I was able to do a good job as an artist. After a week’s worth of working on the piece finally it was done. My professor told me that I had done a beautiful job. When I showed my friends and family they loved it as well. However, it was more than the acclaim of others that I gained from that success. I looked at the work that I had done on Marilyn and was personally satisfied. I knew that I had given my best work to the piece, and it had paid off. I finally felt like I was able to take an artistic challenge and be confident enough to succeed. The confidence that I gained from that portrait has continued with me for the rest of my time in college, and my artwork has only gotten better from that point on. I feel like I have finally established in my head and heart that I am meant to be an artist. I am very grateful for that defining moment, and have continued with joy on my artistic journey.

I have been incredibly blessed to have grown up the oldest of amazing younger siblings, and that has grown in me a love of mentoring others the same way that I have mentored my siblings. I truly love to connect with people and build relationships with others. It is an extraordinary concept to me that whether we realize it or not, everything that we do has an effect on someone for better or for worse. I would like to spend my life trying to benefit others in a positive way through my actions. I started pursuing a career in Art Illustration at Concordia University, and I am so grateful that this school has so many programs and opportunities for me to get involved with others on campus. It has been especially nice because most of the programs are founded with the express purpose of impacting others and building relationships. Not only are we able to connect with fellow students, but we are also able to form connections with the teachers and staff through these opportunities. I recently got involved with an organization on campus called HESED, and I am so glad that I did! Concordia offers the unique opportunity for students with special considerations and learning disabilities to be able to pursue a college education. It also gives these students the ability to go through the “true college experience” through rooming in the dorms and getting involved with campus activities. Part of my job is going with the HESED students to their classes and helping them with their study assignments. These classes range from pottery to personal finances, and it is truly a joy to be able to work with these students. I love being able to interact with them in a mentorship role similar to the one that I have with my younger siblings, and yet also be able to treat them as friends as my peers. It is so cool to see how friendships blossom and grow through this program, not only among the students who are in it, but also among the staff and students. The program is also important because it seeks to train students about life in the workforce, as well as healthy social life practices. As I mentioned before, I am an art student at Concordia, and the skills that I am learning through this program are another way that I hope to be able to influence others in a positive way. I believe that art communicates to people on a personal and deep level, and I want my art to bring others joy and inspiration. As I continue to develop my artistic skills, I am excited to think about the art that I will be able to make in the future. I am also looking forward to being able to ultimately teach art classes for others, since that is something that had a huge positive impact in my own personal life. I am so appreciative of the opportunity to apply for this scholarship, and how being chosen would help me to continue the pursuit of making an impact in the lives of others. Thank you so much for the time that you have taken to consider my submission!

I have grown up in a deeply rooted Christian home and community, and I am so grateful for this fact. I know that I would not be in the same place that I am today if it were not for my faith. God is such an integral part of my life, and I want everything that I do to be a reflection of that. I was taught from when I was young that you did not really get anywhere in life unless you put hard work, time, and dedication into what you were doing. I have always been pushed by the people around me to give my best effort in whatever I am working on. I grew up working on an organic produce farm, and the life skills that I learned there have been invaluable for every other work experience that I have had in my life. Currently I work for a home renovation company, and I am continuing to grow in skill and work ethic, which is useful for all aspects of my life, both inside and outside of college. I believe that God has been able to use the hard work and practical skills that I have learned over the years. I have been able to go on several mission trips in my life, and for each one I have been incredibly blessed to see how God has used me to work for His glory in specific ways. I went to Texas several years ago to help with house renovation after hurricane damage and was able to put my knowledge to good use in helping with rebuilding houses. Similarly, when I went to Oaxaca, Mexico in high school, I was able to help an orphanage renovate their bathrooms and work on the landscaping around their facility. Last year I volunteered to go on a trip to Virginia, where my team did more work with house renovation, and I learned how to roof a house for the first time. I am in awe of how God had set up my life from when I was young to be able to help with all of these projects when I am now a young adult. Currently, I am pursuing a double major in Art Illustration and Philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin. It is truly a miracle that I was able to find a school close to home that was both Christian and gave me the opportunity to study both of my areas of interest. The class work is not easy, and I work a couple of different jobs during the school year and summers so that I will be able to graduate with as little debt as possible. But the work is worth it to me because I am planning on using both of these majors to continue to reflect what God has done in my life. I am excited to see what the future holds for me as I build up more skills in college. Because I have seen God do great things with other skills that He has given me, I have faith that He will be able to use my skills from college in extraordinary ways as well. One of my dreams is to be able to illustrate children’s literature, including story Bibles for younger audiences. However, I know that however God chooses to use my higher education will be a blessing in my life and will bring Him glory. Thank you so much for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. I appreciate the time that you have taken to consider my submission!

My name is Mandy Davila, and I am incredibly passionate about art! Wherever I go and whatever I do, I always end up looking for the art that is displayed around me. Currently I am pursuing a career in Art Illustration, and I am so excited to see what impact I will be able to make through what I create! My main interests lie in children book illustrations, portraiture, and patterned surface design. I grew up loving the children's books that had the prettiest illustrations, and when I walk around a store, my friends all laugh about how I am most likely to buy a product simply because I think that the company did a great job on the package design. I love how art communicates in a very specific way to its audience. It speaks to everyone who see it and can either be clear or open to interpretation. It is a communicative tool, a personal pastime, and a way to share beauty you see with others. As I go forward with sharing my art with others, I want what I create to communicate what matters and is important to me. Every subject that I choose to depict has a special place in my heart, and this is part of why I want to share it with others. Whenever I do a portrait of an actor, it is because I grew up with my grandpa coming over every week to watch old films that he loved and wanted us to experience with him. Whenever I do a character for a book illustration, it is because I want to communicate the same joy that I felt when my mom read to me when I was little. To this day my mom still knows that one of my favorite gifts is a beautifully illustrated children's book, and so she buys me one every year for Christmas. My favorite media to work in is pen/ink and watercolor paints. I love how these two mediums show every brushstroke and line that is made. Being able to see all of the layers and colors that were used in a painting demonstrate the amount of time and thought that went into a piece, and I think that this helps to communicate how much the subject meant to the artist. All of my pieces are hand-drawn and inked. I love working traditionally, because then every piece that I make is original and personal. My style is mostly delicate and detail-oriented. I try to focus on what my linework communicates, as well as what feelings my color palette will be able to invoke in others. When I was a senior in high school looking around for what college to go to, I thought about pursuing a medical career. However, after taking one dual credit art class at a local college, I knew that I would never be completely happy doing anything other than art. I have been so blessed through all that I have learned so far, and my skills have grown in leaps and bounds. I am so excited to continue learning and growing, and am looking forward to new opportunities that will come up in the next few years and that will help me to advance my professional career! Thank you so much for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. I appreciate the time that you have taken to consider my submission!

I believe that one of the most important things that we can do in this world is to step outside of ourselves, and to think about the other people around us. One of the best ways to do this is by being able to experience pieces of others' cultures, in order to realize what ways we are different, and how in many ways we are all the same. When I was in high school, I had the blessing of someone in my church who was from Japan, and was willing to teach me and my friends about the language and the culture. To this day, that has been my favorite class that I have ever taken. My teacher has such a love of Japan, and was very much invested in sharing that love with all of us. Not only did my teacher teach us the grammar and vocabulary of the Japanese language, but he also made us research the provinces of Japan, what some of their cultural past-times were, and he brought us all traditional Japanese food. This was a new experience for me, since in my mind, Japan had always just been a country on a map. After two years, the class came to an end, and our teacher announced that he and his wife were taking their two boys back to go and live in Japan. He invited us to go and visit him anytime. Three years went by, and I found myself at the end of my senior year of high school. I wanted more than anything to be able to truly experience the Japanese culture for myself, and so for my senior trip my mom and I decided to visit my teacher and his family in Japan for two weeks. It was the most amazing experience of my life. Even though I knew quite a bit about the Japanese culture because of my teacher, it was an incredibly eye-opening experience for me to actually be in Japan, eating their food, shopping in their stores, walking their streets. It was so much more beautiful than any picture could describe it, and actually getting to know people there pushed my mind out of he comfort zone of how I usually saw people around me. The Japanese culture is so polite and reserved, in a completely different way than I had ever before experienced. I consider myself incredibly blessed to have been able to branch outside of my own culture, and genuinely experience the culture of another country. It is my dream to be able to go back to Japan someday and stay longer, because I truly fell in love with its language and its people. It has also inspired me to learn more languages, sign language especially, because experiencing someone else's culture is truly life-changing.

My name is Mandy Davila, and I am an artist studying Illustration at Concordia University. I would love to build up my skills and talents to be able to influence the world around me, and to leave my mark for those who come after me. To me, art is one of the boldest ways to communicate to the people in the world. No matter the country or the language, everyone can understand the message that the artist is trying to convey. No matter where you go, art is there. Whether that might be the branding on the drink you buy, the drawing in your child's favorite book, or the typography that a company uses for their store name, it is always there, influencing our daily lives. I love how art is so versatile - it can be comforting, inspiring, motivating, or saddening - but no matter what, it always has a message. My accountability as an artist comes directly from my parents. I started my artistic career when I was still in grade school. My mother is a watercolor artist, and I was inspired by her to see what I could do with my own set of paints and a brush. I was terrible at first, but she kept encouraging me to let go of comparison, and to simply keep practicing and exploring. She saved every single one of my paintings and drawings, allowing me to later see the artistic journey that I had traveled over the years. My dad is always encouraging me to never think small - that dreams can be as big as you want them to be, and that I am capable of more than I think. This accountability and encouragement has gotten me to take the next steps in furthering my dream. I was scared at first, but my parents supported me in my decision to enroll at the local college near us so that I could start my major in Art Illustration. I am learning so much, and I so blessed to be a part of all my classes, which open up my skills to be so much more that they were before. I want the mark that I leave on the world to inspire other people to chase their dreams just like I am doing, and I want what I do to inspire my own children someday, just like my parents have inspired me over the years to pursue my dreams.

The career that I feel called to pursue and love is in the artistic field. When I was in middle school, my mother instigated the testing out of my artistic capabilities. She handed me watercolor and acrylic supplies, and told me to experiment. I did – the results were terrible! I laugh now at all of the early art of mine she has saved in boxes over the years. After comparing my first attempts at art with other examples that were more advanced than mine, I was convinced that I was not destined to be an artist, because I would never be good enough. My mother, however, knew that an artist is not born in a minute, but is cultivated over time and practice. She encouraged me to run my own race, and practice for my own artistic journey. She inspired me and taught me the meaning of perseverance and dedication. The next few years of my artistic accomplishments were still pretty rough. It was not until I continued to develop in watercolor that I felt like I really had any talent. I also discovered that I have an eye for drawing true-to-life images, and so have pushed myself to draw everything that I see. My mother herself is an excellent watercolor artist, and continued to give me the tools and confidence that I needed in order to keep pursuing my passion. To date, my best works are those that are done in watercolor and pen, but I also discovered recently through an oil painting class that I have an intense love and interest in how oil paint functions. I would like to keep pursuing that style as well. While I had all of this artistic ambition fermenting inside of me, I was not sure as to what type of job I could get to use as a creative outlet – and still earn a living at the same time! I decided finally on pursuing the career of illustration, because I believe that it gives me the perfect opportunity to paint and draw in my own style, and it gives a very specific joy to others as well. Growing up, my mother blessed us with a full library to peruse, due to her own great love of literature. As a child, I gravitated towards whatever storybooks had the best illustrations. So, when looking at career options, I realized that I would love to do that for a living – illustrate children’s books because I love looking at them so much. I truly believe that a children’s book is lacking if it does not have the perfect illustrations to go with it. It is the pictures that make the child want to read and look at the story over and over again, later becoming a beautiful memory when that child has become an adult. I personally have started my own collection of books, many of which are purely because I loved the illustrations in them when I was little. I hope someday to pass my love of them on to my own children, as my mother has faithfully done for me and my siblings. Currently, I am pursuing my dream and passion by majoring in Illustration at Concordia University WI. I am daily inspired by my professors and fellow students to continue to grow and learn in my artistic style and capabilities. I am so thankful to be able to attend college and keep journeying on towards my goal!

I absolutely love painting with watercolors! I started out playing with watercolor when I was 10 years old. I was incredibly inspired by my mother, who also has a passion for watercolor painting, and who put me on the path towards seriously developing my talent. When I started out, I was not confident in my abilities, but to me, watercolor is forgiving and confidence-building. They say that “practice makes perfect” and it turns out it is actually true! The more that I practiced with watercolors, the more that I fell in love with the way that I could make the paint flow on the paper, creating the color blends and textures for my illustrations. My passion lies in whimsical art, delicate and beautiful. I have been called an “egg-shell artist” before, which perfectly describes my style. I rely on the defining lines of deft pen strokes to outline my paintings, and I leave the color and styling up to the watercolor portion of my composition. I love how watercolor can add so many moods to a composition piece, changing the feel of the painting based just on how the paint lands on the paper. Now, nine years later, I have the confidence to pursue my dream of obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Art Illustration. I am learning so much about paint, color, and how it all works together to become a piece of art that people cannot help looking at and loving. Out of all the media that I use for my major, watercolor is still my media of choice, and my hope is to someday illustrate children’s books that I would have wanted to read as a child. I am so excited to see what I can do with this major, and to continue thriving in my watercolor journey!

If I could have everyone in the world read one book, I would pick that book to be "Ishmael", by E.D.E.N Southworth. This book was recommended to me by my mother when I was 14 years old, and to this day it is still the most inspirational books in my library. "Ishmael" has incredibly impacted my life, and has given me insight as to what kind of person I would like to be in society. "Ishmael" is a book that tells the story of a young man who is born in poverty. His mother died during his childbirth, and he does not know who his father is. He is raised by his well-meaning but strict aunt and uncle. He grows up during a time period where it is shameful to be born out of wedlock, which is what everyone assumes happened. This assumption about him makes the chances of him becoming a respected gentleman and succeeding in life very unlikely. The plot of the book tracks the young man’s climb upward in life, and how this climb is completely dependent upon the choices that he makes. It is through these choices that the reader is inspired to be a better and nobler person in society, because of how much one grows to respect the young man throughout his life in the story. When "Ishmael" was first handed to me, I actually had very little motivation to read it. I was used to reading girlish romance novels, or dystopian fiction stories, and this book seemed very far outside of my comfort zone. However, as soon as I opened up the book and started reading, I was gripped by the story. I became truly invested in the life journey of the main character. I wanted to see how his life turned out, and to become like him in how he dealt with certain situations and trials. It is because of this inspiration and impact that I would recommend "Ishmael" as the one book that everyone should read. I truly believe that it has shaped my character as a person to better society, and the main character continues to serve as my role model to this day. Everyone should have a role model that they can look up to and emulate in life, and "Ishmael" is a book that provides a solid example of just that.