ArtWorks Class of 2020
2020 Summer Exhibition
Memoirs of Illusion: Selections from the Students in the BMoA ArtWorks Program
This exhibition celebrates the work of sixteen high school juniors and seniors currently in BMoA’s 2020 ArtWorks Program. This semester-long experience gives students the opportunity to work alongside museum instructors, guest speakers, and artists to empower their passion for the visual arts. As a group, students conceive the theme for the exhibition and bring it to life with their artwork.
Titled Memoirs of Illusion, this year’s theme challenged students to explore and question the common misconceptions in our evolving lives. It plays abstractly with notions of time and transformation, but also addresses the real social and economic issues of everyday life. Each work on display is a glimpse into the lives of these artists and into the impressions, reveries or delusions that concern them. Now brought to light, these illusions reflect the story and growth of a young collective immersed in the multifaceted extremes of today and signal how we may all approach and learn from our own accounts of illusion that still linger in obscurity.
Meet the Students
Beta Drews is an 18-year-old non-binary artist born in Hollister, CA. Beta uses the terms they/them, which has influenced their art within an interest in politics. They originally began making art to flesh out their creative writing skills but now enjoys creating art for themselves. Drews commonly uses acrylic paint on canvas, colored pencil, graphite, and digital art to bring storylines to life with unique characters.
Often preferring a more cartoon style in rendering animals and people, they also implement realistic approaches in their work, especially when practicing still life. They like juxtaposing subjects and themes such as light and dark, or joy and grief, to drive a narrative. Drews is currently a junior at Independence High School.
Beta Drews
Independence High School
Junior, 2021
Briana Canales
Ridgeview High School
Senior, 2020
Born in 2002 in Bakersfield, CA, Briana Canales has had an interest in drawing since childhood, taking inspiration from her uncle who is also an artist. Canales primarily uses acrylic and oil paint, as well as charcoal pencil to create her work. Currently a senior at Ridgeview High School, Canales hopes to pursue a career in Nursing after graduation.
Born in 2002 in Loma Linda, CA, Briana Martinez Garcia finds inspiration in the art created by her family and fellow classmates. She cites her father’s drawing of a mermaid as the catalyst to her creative endeavors as a child. From that point, Martinez Garcia sought to draw anything she put her mind to and has since developed her skills by sketching and painting. Currently a senior at Golden Valley High School, she hopes to pursue a career as a jeweler after graduation.
Briana Martinez Garcia
Golden Valley High School
Senior, 2020
Cora Shea Sweeney
Valley Oaks Charter School
Junior, 2021
Born in Valencia, CA, Cora Shea Sweeney has always expressed herself through music or art. Since she can remember she has been immersed in the arts visiting museums, galleries and concert halls.
Outside of school, Sweeney dedicates her time to her art. She focuses on digital art, traditional painting, drawing in pencil and ink, and sculpture. With a critical eye, Sweeney analyzes her subject before deciding the medium and color palette, reworking color, concept, and composition before a piece is completed. While most of her work appears to be finished, they are not, as she feels her art can always be revisited. Sweeney is currently a junior at Valley Oaks Charter School in Tehachapi, CA and plans to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Art at an art school in California.
Daniela Lopez was born in Orange County, CA in 2002. She is proud to have hard-working and supportive parents who encourage commitment to the arts. The encouragement from her parents, friends, and classmates helped foster her passion for illustration and animation. As an artist, Lopez prefers to work with traditional pencils, creating sketches and mini comic scenes, then uses digital media to bring these creations and characters to life. Lopez is currently a senior at Golden Valley High School and hopes to continue her studies to pursue a career as an animator.
Daniela Mercedes Lopez
Golden Valley High School
Senior, 2020
Hailey Hedlund
Ridgeview High School
Junior, 2021
Born in 2003 in Bakersfield, CA, Hailey Hedlund initially had an interest in dinosaurs. She observed her cousin who constantly drew; luckily for Hedlund her cousin often gave her pointers for improving her technical skills. Hedlund soon fell in love with art. Now older and with more experience, she dedicates her time to digital art based in surrealism and experimenting with new styles and mediums, Currently a junior at Ridgeview High School, she hopes to pursue a career as a tattoo artist and entrepreneur, creating her own lifestyle brand that designs clothes and skateboards.
Born in 2002 in Pasadena, CA, Kierstyn Nash has always been infatuated with art. Nash grew up with two creative older brothers who never failed to fascinate her with their artwork. Inspired by them, she began to create her own art, from coloring pictures for her family to drawing on place mats at restaurants. By the time she reached middle school, her love for art peaked and she began to draw and paint all the time. Nash became particularly interested in mythical creatures and the surreal - her love for these things has continued to flourish in high school. Now she experiments with different styles and media such as oil and watercolor paint to create abstract imagery. Though she is only a junior at Centennial High School, Nash hopes to pursue a career in tattoo artistry after high school.
Kierstyn Nash
Centennial High School
Junior, 2021
Kylee Anderson
North High School
Senior, 2020
Kylee Anderson was born on April 8th, 2003 in Tehachapi, CA but has lived in Bakersfield for most of her life. Anderson became interested in drawing and pursuing art in the sixth grade; now it is her main creative outlet. She primarily works with ink pens but utilizes colored pencils to elevate a piece. Finding inspiration from interesting turns of phrase and popular culture, Anderson hopes to fill her audience with a sense wonderment and inspiration. Currently attending North High School, Anderson’s goal is to create and put out awesome work into the world.
Born in Bakersfield, CA in 2002, Luz Meza was a curious girl with a growing interest in math, art, and community service. For part of her childhood, she was raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, where she learned about her family’s culture and love. When she returned to the United States, the language barrier affected the way she expressed herself. As universal languages, math and art changed that; her passion for solving math problems and creativity for baking and singing helped shape her into the woman she is now.
In terms of her art, one of her pieces, Twelve O’ Clock, was displayed at the Central Area Youth Art Month with the California Art Education Association. She has also participated in Bakersfield Museum of Art’s annual Via Arté festival and her school’s Inktober event. Lately, Meza has focused on using water, acrylic and oil paint to bring her ideas to life.
Meza’s father deeply inspires her – his labor revolves around constructing homes, buildings, and other public works such as roads and bridges. This motivates her to work towards a future related to construction to help others. She is a senior at Golden Valley High School where she hopes to pursue a career in Architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In the future, she envisions herself designing homes for families where they can create happy memories together. Not only does she want to create an eye-catching aesthetic, but Meza also wants to provide a well-crafted infrastructure combined with eco-friendly ideas. Her experience in ArtWorks has helped her remember who she is and made clear steps for her to navigate in her upcoming college journey.
Luz Meza
Golden Valley High School
Senior, 2020
Marisabel Romero
East Bakersfield High School
Senior, 2020
Born in 2002 in Los Angeles, CA, Marisabel Romero was innately born with an interest in music and the performing arts. Inspired by the talent she grew up with, Romero spends her time drawing and acting. As an artist, Romero focuses on still life with graphite. Currently a senior at East Bakersfield High School, Romero hopes to pursue a career in the medical field and performing arts.
Michelle Saldivar found her love for storytelling through popular culture and music. Her passion for the arts influenced much of her childhood, especially her teenage years. At first, she sought to express herself through writing but soon recognized she could also communicate with a brush. This life-changing realization was brought to her attention by her disorder, Maladaptive Daydreaming. A common theme in many of her pieces, this condition is a disordered form of dissociative absorption that is linked to vivid and excessive fantasy activity.
Because of this Saldivar’s art now stands before you; she could not be more ecstatic being part of this year’s Artworks Program where she has met lovely people who share similar interests. Currently a senior at Golden Valley High School, Saldivar intends to work in Character Design after graduation, merging her two passions of art and writing that make her feel like the real Michelle.
Michelle Saldivar
Golden Valley High School
Senior, 2020
Priscilla Rodriguez
Golden Valley High School
Junior, 2021
Priscilla Rodriguez was born in Hawthorne, CA in 2003, but relocated with her family to Bakersfield, CA at the age of five. As a child Rodriguez loved to draw her family and animals, but she almost renounced art completely after one of her family members ridiculed her for one of her drawings.
Looking back, she finds it pretty funny. Rodriguez is grateful to herself for giving art another chance in high school - her art has tremendously improved after three years. Now, apart from chasing soccer balls, she refuses to put down paintbrushes and pencils. She falls deeper in love with the realism and symbolism that surges out of her with each new piece. Currently, Priscilla is a junior at Golden Valley High School; she hopes to pursue a career in teaching fine arts at an elementary or high school, or a career in the STEM field such as aerospace engineering.
Born and raised in Bakersfield, CA, Sage Mullican is interested in creating stories through her art. Her family lineage is full of artists, from fine artists to graphic designers to fashion designers. She spent much of her childhood inspired by the amazing artists in her family and now spends her time ambitiously working to make them proud. As an artist, Mullican focuses primarily on watercolor painting and marker art. For this year’s ArtWorks exhibition, she decided to break out of her comfort zone and try acrylic painting. A senior at North High School, Mullican hopes to pursue a career in Illustration and help create children's books.
Sage Mullican
North High School
Senior, 2020
Shantal Cruz
Ridgeview High School
Senior, 2020
Born in 2002 in Ventura, CA, Shantal Cruz always been fascinated by different forms of art. When Cruz was in elementary school, she would create bookmarks to sell at school. This would inspire her to prioritize art as her future career. Currently a senior at Ridgeview High School, Cruz spends her time studying and practicing many different forms of art, from traditional to contemporary. As an artist, she prefers to use ink and pen but also works in watercolor, acrylic and oil paint, and animation. Cruz hopes to pursue a career in Animation after attending college.
Born in 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, Tenley Culak has always felt the rush for creativity and the desire to cultivate the minds of others through art. Culak has been immersed in art from a very young age through her domestic and international travels. Inspired by the variety of people and places in which she has been immersed, she channels their ways of life into sensorial art forms. She is currently a junior at Garces Memorial High School and hopes to continue her education internationally to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in France or Italy.
Tenley Taylor Culak
Garces Memorial High School
Junior, 2021
Teresa Silvas
Golden Valley High School
Senior, 2020
Teresa Silvas was born in Bakersfield, CA in 2002. Since she was a child, Silvas always had an interest in a variety of video games, exploring these genres on consoles such as PlayStation Portable (PSP), Xbox One, and even Personal Computer (PC). This realm of virtual reality inspired Silvas to adapt and create worlds though graphic design that are inspired by subjects in her own life. All critical to her artistic process, Silvas spends her time playing video games, creating art, and listening to music outside of school. Currently a senior at Golden Valley High School, Silvas hopes to pursue a career in Graphic Design for the entertainment industry.