Artist Statement

I have always growed up feeling as if I was never smart enough to pursue careers such as nursing, or a scientist. And from a young age my eyes would always glow when I got that Crayola coloring set for Christmas. Art has always been a hobby to me ever since I was young when I would draw myself in a bathing suit on a beach. But when life gets harder and you grow up more, you seek an escape from everyday life to make you feel calm and lift your spirits. That for me was art, my therapist was the first person to give me my first ever sketchbook and from then I could never stop drawing. I started off with fashion designs, cartooning, and even watching anime as a source of inspiration to strengthen my skills. With several roadblocks away like not being accepted into an honors art class in 5th grade only strengthened my passion for art more.

Through my journey there were a lot of tears and unmotivation, to the point where I was on the verge of quitting art for good. And to be insulted for being black, for my speech, weight, they tried to find every way to make fun of me. Though every negative insult, comment, and fight hurt I always got back up again and pushed towards a hopeful future.

Honors and Achievements

In my past few years in high school I have had my artwork hung at the Newark Art Museum winning a printmaking award, worked for Sol Studios ESKEFF at the Mana Contemporary in JC, became Vice President of Education for City Wide Student Council for Jersey City Public Schools, joined the National Honor Society, painted a mural with Jersey City Mural program, and won an Honorable Mention for Scholastic Arts and Writing. With all of these achievements and honors I am very glad that my hard work is paying off.

College and Career

After high school I plan to attend Mason Gross School of Arts majoring in Design, and minoring in Business Administration. I hope to take many classes on fine arts and design to further my knowledge and passion for the arts. After higher education I would love to be a graphic designer for a company while also freelancing my art skills creating my own artwork. I would like to potentially do residency and create artwork for others or have my own art studio for people to visit and purchase my artwork.

My Series of Art

My artwork is based on all of my experiences in my life, depicted through my friends, family, and myself in many different series.​​ While also speaking on racial stereotypes that us black people go through, and the feeling of being different then my peers in my school. Every artwork exhibited all goes in a circle to not only represent my life and all of its ups and downs, but also the happy moments of me creating artwork for the sake of being creative. So with this I will leave you with a quote I wrote myself. “Don’t be afraid to be who you are, because being who you are is better than anything else!”