Inspiration:

The topic was reflection and growth in one of our weekly sessions. During this time, I considered where my path was going to lead me and where my path had been. Through AFTI's values session, I realized my morals and values are in line with much of my culture and family, which really was ingrained by my parents. Going forward, I aspire to realign my values and path, from which I strayed, and this goal is greatly similar to my father's. I combined the allegory of "the apple does not fall far from the tree" with my culture which is represented by big and little monks to share. To focus on the two, I set them in monk orange and complemented them with the greens in the landscape.

What role does art play in your life?

Art has many roles in my life. From an outlet for negative emotions, to an expression for positive emotions. During stress, it allows me to regroup my thoughts, calm myself and keeps me on my squares. Positively I use it often to show my appreciation for friends, family, strangers acts of kindness or for my own act of kindness to others.

Artist statement:

Art initially was a distraction and an escape for me. At a young age, I doodled in class, drew to avoid reality. As time went on, I realized people were genuinely grateful to receive one of a kind artwork. So, it has grown into a focus and a method to express appreciation to others for their actions or friendships. I enjoy learning about others and incorporating their qualities into artwork I create specifically for them. Artwork can evoke powerful emotions and each time the persona wants to bring up the emotions, with the ease of looking at the artwork, it is a powerful gift that artwork can give/be.