In 1995, in first grade, I had this assignment where Mrs. Patchet asked us to draw a page from a kid's book we had all read. I took so much time trying to make mine look exactly like the book that I only finished half of it. She was so impressed with the little bit I had done then said it was incredible and called me an artist for the first time in my life. I took that page home and worked my little first grade heart out making sure it looked exactly like the book. I had no idea that that little bit of encouragement would be the beginning of a snowball of motivation that would grow into an avalanche over my lifetime.
I grew up in a large happy family that was always active, creative and silly. Drawing monsters and kids books as a child with my twin brother turned into painting portraits of people, doing thigh tattoos, and laser etching relief prints on wood planks. It's amazing what little things affect you at a young age, and it's incredible what you can do with them.
Since graduating high school in 2008 I have spent the last 16 years studying the art of life at 5 different community colleges all over California to finally land here at Chico State where I hope to earn my BFA in Communication Design. It has been an incredibly humbling experience navigating life’s ups and downs while meeting the most extraordinary people as well as my own self a few times along the way. Even though I would have ideally liked to have drawn a straight line to my goal and my line looks more like a 5 year old’s conceptual drawing of a rollercoaster, I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s been a wildly exciting ride.
Artists that inspire me: