Art
Below are some of my art pieces and their inspirations from places I have gone to explore nature. My drawings and color schemes are often directly influenced by the natural spaces I go for recreation and scientific research.
Self growth is a reflective piece about the importance of gardening in my life. My mother is an avid gardener and Arbor instilled in me the knowledge and skills required to grow plants and live in a sustainable form where food moves directly from garden to mouth.
The growing thoughts series is made of block prints. The flowers growing out of the girls head represent my academic focus on nature.
Busy Fish is a colored pencil drawing of some of the pets that I have raised in the past. Growing up I had a large collection of pets between school and home including a fish, lizard, frog, hermit crab, turtle, cats, rodents, and various insects.
Ella Rabbit is a depiction of me in the form of a bunny.
Space Mountain is a wood burning and painting that I made after start gazing at Mount Hood and Manzanita beach which are two of my favorite outdoorsy places near my my hometown Portland, Oregon.
On the left is a piece that I made called “Garden Boy”. It is inspired by memories of my friend Miles in his favorite garden at Arbor which is depicted on the right. In first grade, we spent hours appreciated the small organisms and plants that inhabited the grounds.
In the future, I hope to use my art as a form of activism. In the digital age, more people are becoming visual learners and one of the best ways to get peoples attention is by capturing it through images. Living in LA has shown me the power of street art and public installations. One of the most impactful art pieces I have heard of recently is the countdown clock to climate disaster in NYC. This clock provides New Yorkers with a daily reminder that our climate is warming and an age of irreversible consequences is near. Artwork as a form of environmental activism is on the rise and I hope to join the movement with future projects. Below is a link to learn more about the countdown clock.
Here is a list of ten more artists who are also attempting to raise awareness about climate change through their pieces.
The emission of greenhouse gases from humans has caused global warming which leads to more severe climate events on a global scale. Citizens of California and Oregon are seeing the impacts of the phenomena through more extreme dry seasons and ravaging wild fires. A couple weeks ago, one of my favorite places Opal Creek was severely damaged by the Beachie creek fires. The loss of old growth forests in Oregon is devastating, especially to the rural communities who live there. I have been brainstorming ways to raise awareness about the dangers of wildfires, how to prevent them, and how to contribute to the repair of ecosystems and recreational sites that have been damaged. During winter break, I hope to offer my art skills and scientific knowledge to the Willamette National Park services. Perhaps I could help design a webpage to collect donation or make an art installation to raise awareness like the countdown clock. Art brings me peace and clarity and when combined with science, it can help me achieve my goal of saving the planet.
Here is more information on the fires in Oregon and some images I have taken of opal creek over the years:
