Portfolio

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Coming from a traditional Chinese immigrant family, I felt pressured to model my dreams and aspirations to follow stereotypical occupations such as a doctor or an accountant. However, these careers did not ignite my passion. What caught my eye and occupied my hands were the beauty and freedom of creating my own pieces of art. Growing up, I couldn’t get my hands off coloring books and crayons, all the while constantly making excuses to avoid my chores in order to start paintings of my own. One day, I showed my mother one of the paintings I made for her.

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“Happy Mother’s Day, mom!” I yelled in Cantonese as I handed her the painting.

She then stopped her sewing to look at the rose I painted for her. 

“Wow, Julia, did you really paint this?” She said with an impressed look on her face.

I proudly smiled and nodded. 

 

The thought of turning my passion for art into a viable career never crossed my mind until I participated in the 2016 California Youth Art Month Exhibition Contest as a high school student. I was beaming with joy seeing the paper sculptures I had made on proud display at the art gallery. My hard work had paid off. The shapes in my geometry class inspired my art pieces. Using cardstock and cardboard paper, I constructed three-dimensional objects that resembled an icosahedron--a shape with multiple vertices and faces. I spent days making the units by creating multiple symmetric shapes and connecting them together with adhesive. For these pieces, I chose to work with unconventional materials, such as cardstock and thick paper, which would often receive strange glances from my peers during art class. At the art ceremony, I won first and second place with my artwork. This honor reaffirmed my artistic purpose and gave me the confidence to keep applying my creativity and self-expression to my craft and develop it into something I can do every day for the rest of my life. 

 

I remember my father telling me when I was a child, “Julia, make sure you color within the lines. If you go out of them, then the picture won’t be as pretty.” In a way, he was right. Although as much as order and neatness can have a place in some artistic perspectives, what I love about art is the volatility of being able to freely create and express who I am along with strong technique.

 

It’s time to break out of the model I’ve followed for the majority of my life. I want to find my identity and pursue what I love. I want my art to tell stories. I want to color out of the lines.