My artwork constructs a glimpse into the influence of the media arts in my life, growing up in California. Surrounded by endless fields that only lead me to finding my heritage, binding it with pride as time went by.  Incorporating my interest in civil rights, human experiences, and daily daydreaming with music, my work is a window to my mind as well as my heart made physical, influenced by my love for symbolism and historical value. My process is messy and unexpected, formulated similarly by the purpose of being seen, whether being in the subject matter or literal as a visual piece. My piece branches off the theme of Becoming, in this case the becoming of who I am as an individual culturally, having to learn to exist with two distinct cultures yet also figuring out how to interweave them as my own. Like all of us do, we share different experiences all interconnected by us being human, an ever-changing, ever-growing, unknowing experience. Through learning to appreciate other people’s experiences I learned to take pride in mine. 

Born in 2008 in Sacramento, California, M.J. was always intrigued by films, music, and the arts, which opened them to a sense of freedom that later flourished through creating, in which they poured that same passion into other interests they took in history, music, and their culture. Growing up not as fortunate gave them experiences that only built them to become a first-generation student to graduate high school and be accepted to a four-year college. They want to become what's behind the magic of films/media, being a director, to demonstrate experiences that have been less told throughout history. With the incorporation of animation, mixed media, and anything accessible for their works.

My piece takes a pretty literal approach to the theme “Becoming”. This was on purpose, since I wanted it to be able to be interpreted in different ways: literally or metaphorically. This piece also aims to mimic the way classical paintings portray stories, especially paintings like The Last Supper and The Birth of Venus. I wanted to make a piece like this because I really wanted to push myself and make something I have never really thought of making before. I usually paint things that come to my head out of the blue, but with this I have source material and an entire plotline that I need to learn about so that I can make this piece perfect. Among the other pieces this piece will show the sadness that comes with the concept of “becoming”; all the torture that comes with change. The painting's main subject, Daphne, is fearful of her transformation; she is afraid of the way she is losing herself and becoming one with the forest. Her feelings of fear and loss are meant to symbolize the fear and loss that comes with losing the parts of yourself that make you unique as you grow up. I’m really excited to see how people interpret my work and hear what questions they have for me. 

Born in Bakersfield, January 5, 2009, Sabella Beck loved to draw from the moment she could pick up a pencil. As the years went by, she slowly began to expand the ways in which she made art; going from sketching, to using alcohol markers, digital painting and finally acrylic painting. Being the first artist in her family, she taught herself the basics of shading, silhouettes, colors and anatomy through practice and observation. Sabella hopes to use her art to one day tell stories and develop characters that little girls like her can be inspired by and see how valuable women are in the creative world. Many of her works show themes of femininity, self-expression and surrealism, and find themselves usually being very colorful. Her art is made with acrylic paint, made digitally, and sketched, with her biggest pieces being her acrylic paintings. Almost all of her pieces have a theme of self-expression and how it feels for someone to hold back on how they express themselves. 

I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil, and art became my first language. Before I had the words to understand the world, I used art to dissect it. This ability to use art as a tool to pick apart and grapple with the bizarre world we occupy continues to shape my practice. My work explores social issues such as struggles with gender, sexuality, culture, and conflict, while also examining these through a personal and emotional lens. Through each work, I try to challenge the viewers to question the norms and expectations they encounter almost every day and have come to accept. I also want the viewers to be emotionally moved, to confront these uncomfortable ideas that society has made them comfortable with, and to feel unsettled or even disgusted. Ultimately, the root of my work is driven by questioning and by deep, unsettling emotions that, once seen, the viewer cannot look away from. In this piece, “One is Not Born, But Rather Becomes,” I attempt to confront the expectations and boxes one must check when becoming a “woman” and entering adulthood. I question how much of gender is performance, especially for women. Women are often expected to wear makeup, shave, and do much more to physically mold themselves into what society deems acceptable for a woman to look and act like. This piece tries to reflect the psychological effects of that, taking a human breaking and molding them into a category by placing a woman in a tight, suffocating box.

Born in 2009 in Punjab, India, Niyaamat developed an interest in history at a young age, which later expanded into a deeper fascination with sociology, politics, and philosophy. During a summer art history program at Sotheby’s auction house, she discovered that she is especially interested in exploring how art responds to social struggles and political issues throughout history and in the present day. Although she strives to create pieces that are timeless in form and that combine both traditional and contemporary ideas, practices, and mediums, her work aims to challenge and directly confront current issues. Niyaamat’s primary and preferred mediums are charcoal and watercolor, which she often combines in many of her pieces. She plans to continue developing her creative practice and attend college to study art and philosophy.

In my art, I hope to capture the beauty in sexuality but also the hardships. Through my artwork, I explore and criticize gender roles and how people perceive gender. I highlight transsexuality and gender-fluidity issues such as hiding your identity and being ashamed of how you are. Being queer at a young age is hard and I hope to show relatability to other young queer kids that hide parts of them. I take a critical stance on how women are forced into a role of caretaker and femininity and the only way to be taken seriously is to have power, be famous, or in other words, a “star.” A star has always linked with notability in the industry. It is very important to delve into these topics because not only I have struggled with them, there is controversy in the topic. 

Born July 9th, 2009 in Bakersfield , California, Lee Cole is an illustrator and character designer who thrives in the delicate space between melancholy and bittersweetness. Blending traditional art in graphite, markers, and pens with digital art , Lee creates emotive characters that vary from quiet lingering and a cheerful, adventurous storyline. Their artwork and characters connect with sexuality and queerness.

Growing up, I never doubted for a moment that art was my calling. When I was in kindergarten, I drew entire stories inside of my daily journal rather than writing them. From there, my creativity only expanded, my experiences paving the way for my art. I think that life isn’t a single set line, but a branch of everything you become, and everything you’ve been all at once. I believe that’s what makes us who we are. I know that’s what’s made me who I am. From drawing in my kindergarten journal to making full fledged pieces, I will continue to become. The question I am exploring in my ArtWorks piece is: does that “Becoming” continue after death?

Is death really the ending of life? Or is it the beginning of new life?  When people pass away, they are more than just a body. They are fuel for more life, whether it be plants, food for animals, or even their bloodline. Death can be inherently terrifying, but I prefer to think of it as allowing yourself to carry on through everything around you. My piece is a reflection of this idea: the mirror between both life and death, reaching into each other's world while nature surrounds them. Through mixed media such as acrylics and beading, I hope to show that identity isn’t linear, and that dying doesn’t kill the entire branch that came before. 

Born in 2007 in Stockton, California, Keira Garcia was passionate about the arts from a young age. Being raised in a low income family, she learned to take what she could from whatever she had. Making doll clothes from tissue and tape, and drawing on old printer paper were what carried Garcia further into her future within the art world. What truly began her interest in pursuing an art career was her freshman art class, which illuminated Garcia’s opportunities. After realizing that she needed to take the leap into the art community, her work was put out to the public, being displayed in the Kern County Fair, the Bakersfield Art Association, and at Bakersfield College. As an artist, Garcia delves into the lines between life and death, using mixed media materials to convey dark topics with quiet optimism. In the future, Keira plans to further her art education and become an illustrator.

With the skills I have learned through my family, I try to apply them to my art. Therefore, with learning how to sew from my family, I wanted others to feel this joy through the bright oranges of the dress, while at the same time, feel the maturity of once being a child to now being a young adult. The change element of the light orange is the innocence and simplicity of being a child, to then those colors getting darker and vibrant as time moved, knowing who you are becoming from who you once were. With the colors conveying happiness, but also remembrance towards the journey I have been through, and towards the journey that is just starting. 

Sarah Herron was born in 2008 in an ever-growing city, Colorado Springs. Surrounded by her family, sharing some sort of creativity, whether it was quilting, drawing, painting, or any of the sort; her family was there every step of the way. Then, along the way, her family moved to Bakersfield, filled with warm, bright colors compared to the cool tones of the mountains, filled with California Poppies, instead of Colorado Columbians. This was one of the biggest impacts in her life, which has shaped who she is, who she was, and who she will be. This choice has brought much joy, love, and ever-growing happiness, as well as experiences she never thought she would find herself in.

Kya Lostaunau’s artwork is about expressing her emotions and personal experiences through visual storytelling. She creates her pieces by experimenting with different materials, colors, and techniques, and lets the work grow naturally instead of sticking to a strict plan. She makes art because it helps her express things that are hard to say out loud and allows her to connect with other people. She's influenced mostly by her surroundings, friends, and contemporary artists who focus on identity and self-expression. Like a lot of artists today, her work reflects individuality and real-life emotions, but it’s still based on her perspective. She wants people to understand that her art doesn’t have just one meaning, it's open to interpretation. When shown with her peers' work, it adds another voice and viewpoint to the space. Some parts of her inspiration are personal, so she prefers to let the artwork speak for itself. Within an exhibition space, she hopes viewers notice the care and emotion placed into handmade objects and understand that each piece represents patience, learning, and personal history. She creates ceramics because it gives her a way to slow down, focus, and express myself in a tangible form. While she is open to discussing her process and inspiration, some emotional meanings remain personal because they come from important memories. 

Kya was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. Growing up, her and her brother bonded through music, and that connection helped shape her love for art. Music became a source of inspiration because it allowed her to feel emotions deeply and translate those feelings into creative expression. As a child, she enjoyed working with Model Magic clay and other hands-on materials, which made creating feel fun and personal rather than structured. When she entered high school, she decided to take ceramics after seeing her sister participate in the class. Watching her sister create inspired her to try it for herself, and that decision is where her passion for ceramics truly began. Working with clay allows her to physically shape her ideas, making the artistic process both relaxing and meaningful. She focuses on form, texture, and individuality, allowing each piece to develop naturally rather than following a strict plan. Her artwork reflects personal growth, creativity, and the influence of music and family in her life. As she continues growing as an artist, her goal is to expand her skills in ceramics. 

This piece is done with charcoal. The perspective of lower angle is representing a kid’s vision, young immature one’s perspective toward the world surrounding it. The elements such as pencil case, books, and scissors crossing the street symbolizes the kid’s imagination overlapping the actual world, and its purity. The background; cars, street, big man’s feet, and buildings are the image of the society that pressuring the kid, and also the conclusion the kid will become a part of.  

Won was born in 2007 in South Korea. His current goal is to become a product designer. He usually gets inspiration from his surroundings or his own thoughts about those objects. Most of his pieces are about the gap between imagination and real world or perspective pieces. Tend to use dry materials rather than wet materials, such as charcoal, ball pointed pen, and graphite pencils.

This mixed media work, primarily acrylic, explores Becoming as a process shaped by both internal change and external influence. The figure is lit by a bright white and gold light, suggesting emergence, while her upward gaze reflects a desire to grow. A supernova at her chest represents intense inner transformation, and a flower growing from her body shows that change can be uncomfortable. A single wing suggests her potential to rise, though she is not yet able to fully do so. Reflective materials invite viewers to see themselves in the work, while the hands pressing into her body represent forces that can either support or hold her back. 

Xavier Ramirez is a 16-year-old artist whose work centers on self-expression through visual art. He has been drawing since early childhood, developing a practice rooted in translating personal thoughts and emotions into visual form. His involvement in colorguard and theater informs his understanding of expression, particularly through movement, gesture, and presence, which in turn shapes his approach to composition and symbolism. Ramirez’s work explores how visual elements can communicate experiences that are difficult to articulate verbally, using art as a primary means of expression.

Art has always been a part of my journey. As I grew, so did the materials I used to create with. Going from messed up crayola crayons to using oil paints. Now using it to illustrate the concept of Becoming; who you are, who you were, and who you might be. Using imagery displayed as flowers, wildlife, and skeletons; hoping to convey a sense of depth and connection. I used imagery that each represents a different meaning, with the skeleton signifying death, and its beauty, the flower. The snake in this piece is also representing more than just the dangerous aspect of life. It's rebirth in its raw form. These images resonate with me deeply as I am fond of snakes and their dangerous beauty. While the flower represents a rose lily, innocence and purity, and my favorite flowers. The skeleton is a subject I’m quite experienced with painting. Overall, they add together to be up to interpretation while maintaining their connection with me. 

Lia Lui Rios was born January 12th 2008 in Chihuahua, Mexico. Creating was always a self-battle for her. Inspiration came easy, but completing art pieces proved to be difficult. At the age of 7, she started treating art like a true passion rather than a mere hobby. Through this process, it led to a fluctuating art journey. Struggling with mental health for a huge part of her life, it not only affected her art, but her personal life. Experiences throughout her life caused her to struggle with inspiration. Leading to her “benching” her own ambitions as well as responsibilities. However, after an extremely traumatic event in her life, she began from ground zero again. She found how to restart and grow from experiences rather than stay rooted onto them. This inspired her to rediscover her love for art again. She continues to struggle but finds beauty in that frustration. Making her both a mature individual and artist in her development. Lia hopes to demonstrate her art to the world, with goals to become a professional artist and make her mark in the art community.

My work explores the reflection of my growth through memories, experiences, and the impact I leave behind. I am deeply influenced by my fascination with nature and my tendency to find meaning through symbolism. The tree represents the growth of life, discovery, and the formation of memories originating from the woman. Many people in my life have inspired me to learn, explore, and share knowledge with others. The branches of the tree are meant to contain the woman's knowledge, gained through experience and life. My process is intuitive and unplanned, allowing each piece to develop naturally. When viewing my artwork, my greatest desire is that others challenge themselves to find the deeper meaning in the piece and connect it to their own interpretations. From the hand of a woman, a rose grows from the ground, representing the future and the idea of new life continuing beyond me. I would like for the viewer to take from my art, be inspired by it, and become that rose. My work operates among my peers as a reflection of the core of creativity. The gift of life allows us to observe, learn, and create from those discoveries, and my art represents that gift. Through this work, I capture both where I come from and where I am going, showing a moment within an ongoing journey of change and discovery, as well as my aim to inspire others through my message.

Born in 2009 in Bakersfield, Navi Rivera developed a passion for art from a young age, becoming interested in capturing the quiet complexity of the people around her and communicating with others through pencil and paper. Her difficulty with traditional social interaction motivated her to find alternative ways to express herself, leading her to closely observe her surroundings and translate those experiences into visual form. She was introduced to ceramics through her high school ceramics teacher, who provided her with new methods to communicate emotion and meaning through material and process. Since then, Rivera has focused primarily on ceramic work as a way to explore her identity and express her inner thoughts. She hopes to continue working in ceramics while sharing her passion for creativity through teaching as an artistic career.

I am covering the complexities of my life, from when I was young to the person I am now and the person I may become in the future. I am portraying that by making a spiral showing how I've changed over the years, for better and worse. I'm doing this because I feel people often avoid or are afraid to confront some parts that they feel ashamed of and I struggled with as well; and the only way I feel comfortable is by doing that through art. I want to provide something that I wish I had as a child, like complicated relationships with family so that even if one single person has that issue, they can have something that they feel they aren’t alone feeling this way. One of my major influences is my family and the experiences that I've gone through from interacting with others, both good and bad. My art is similar to my contemporaries, as in I wish to show growth and change . I want the takeaway to be to understand that while life isn't easy and happy, you can still become better, you still change to live a life you are okay with. I hope my work fits in with the work of my peers with our theme. I feel it does as it covers personal issues and trauma. 

Born on April 17 of 2008 in California, Stephanie Rocha Vazquez her imaginative side came out around five years old. She used to play alone since she was a lonely child, by proxy of being the youngest child, so she would spend her days just playing with whatever was around. She came up with stories in her head, pretending she was in a movie through storylines by using pens and toys as placeholders. She has changed as she’s gotten older, who she is at her core hasn’t changed but how she expressed it has changed over the years. She has always enjoyed drawing, playing games, watching shows, and writing as well; it expanded her creativity. Even to this day, consuming media and just taking she likes, find interesting and incorporating that into her own works, trying new stuff with it; like having a base, adding and working into something new and comprehensive. One of her artistic goals is to represent new concepts or present ideas that she feels are under represented. She didn’t feel seen when she was young, especially with ADHD, and how she viewed the world and ideas. She plans to go into many fields, like an all-rounder, because there’s many ways to express a concept. She wishes to experiment, she doesn’t want to limit herself. The themes she covers are difficult issues of feeling different, isolated, or not fitting in; as well as trauma she feels is a bit under-represented, that she wishes she could’ve had earlier so she didn’t feel like she was bad for feeling a way that wasn’t normal. She doesn’t have a set medium, she typically works with traditional materials like pencils, little sketches, watercolor, acrylic, etc. She does digital art as well. The majority of her process is figuring out what works, learning and improving as she works on the piece.

The definition of the word ‘pentemento’ is the “visible trace of an earlier painting beneath a layer or layers of paint on a canvas.” I call this piece Pentementi, because–other than the obvious fact of me showing parts of the underpainting–it shows traces of me that are no longer there, but aren’t ignored. 

When I was growing up, art and creation connected me with my family but now that I have grown up more, I am able to reach more people and I can connect and communicate with the friends I haven’t made yet. My art is meant to encourage self acceptance, and to allow yourself to take everything you’ve experienced to help you grow. I was inspired to make this piece by a picture of a younger version of myself holding up a painting. It was bright and colorful. Looking at the picture was looking into a memory. The warmth of the summer, the joy of the day, and being surrounded by my cousins filled with laughter. I wanted to imbue this piece with those feelings of warmth. But I also wanted the shift that comes with growing up–because I am not that same little girl anymore. I will never be that girl again and I will never be the girl I am now again… with time comes change. All you can do is carry those changes close to your heart. I positioned the figure of the Present Auria painting the face of the Little Auria to show how my art can lead me to embrace my past and present self.

Born in 2007 in Bakersfield, California, Auria Shamblin was constantly surrounded by art while growing up. Whether that be by her uncle who did theater, her mother who made her bows, or her aunt who made jewelry, or even her grandmother who crocheted. Their own interest in art had never been questioned, only heightened as she grew up. Auria has been experimenting with any sort of art supply that she can get her hands on in any way possible, but she has found a particular liking in oil paints and theater, in which she can convey to audiences relationships through well thought out facial expressions and body language. She will be going to school for teaching, in hopes that she can spread the wonders of art in any way she can achieve.

My artwork is meant to represent the feeling of wanting to hold on closely to a part of yourself that you don’t think you’ll ever let go of. The representation of the masked unicorn figure represents a personalized version of yourself that you want to keep close as you grow. The idea that the masked unicorn figure is to represent a glorified version of the past self, the mask hiding the unruly parts that you try to hide away, but still have to hold onto despite the harm it caused you. Holding onto the past, meaning you even have to hold onto the parts that hurt you, to see them and know they’re a part of you as well as the good that came from your past self. In my art piece, I used colored pencil as the main medium to give it a softer and comforting feeling. Colored pencils are a big part of many people’s childhoods, especially mine with how I’ve been drawing ever since I touched a pencil. The art piece also uses glitter, charms, and ribbon to show the feeling of childhood, and to also make you feel you’re in a childlike mind. My piece cooperates well with my peers as we are all becoming older and having to plan our futures, and as that happens, to me at least, becoming scared of losing a sense of a childlike whimsy. This piece shows how I’d wish to hold onto the parts of myself, good and even bad, as they make me the person I am today. 

Born in 2009 in Bakersfield, Ace Talley had a very big imagination growing up. They were raised in a very supportive family who encouraged their interest in art. As a child, they were very into watching animations and digitally created art through YouTube. This inspired them to create works of their own on paper using markers and color pencils, as well as digital art on their parents phone until they get one of their own. They enjoyed drawing characters from games, characters they created themselves, and family members and friends. In elementary school, they’ve had their own artwork displayed in their district buildings as well. Today, Talley still loves to create art, both traditionally and digitally as it’s something they believe they’re good at. They create digital artwork  for their clubs social media page and continue to create meaningful art that helps them express their own feelings through collage, watercolors, acrylics, and still even color pencils. They’ve recently had their art displayed in Bakersfield College and hope to be able to continue creating and exhibiting their work in the future to continue to find more pathways into the world of art.

My work explores human life, while reflecting the brief impactful life of a human. I utilize the color wheel to convey the pivotal ages in a human lifetime. My piece is meant to be read like a clock starting at 1. Starting with the color Red, to symbolize rebirth and the viewer experiences the early moments of birth. Then early childhood in Orange, while shifting into a Yellow hue to reference the teenage years. Green is the newfound adulting freedom, while Teal reflects the calm aspects of life like falling in love. Blue is the tranquil retirement age and Purple the acceptance of death. Pink is the conception starting over the cycle of new life. Finally adorned with a Black circle in the middle. A fingerprint figure stares at the viewer. Referencing the uniqueness of humans and the impending death that looms over us, at every stage of our life. Once the viewer steps back, they are confronted with an iris staring at the viewer. Now flipping the entire piece back to the more important life: yours.

Malorie Rose Thorn was born in 2007 in Bakersfield, California. She has always gravitated towards art. As soon as she could grab, she was reaching and defiling walls. She employs various  mix media materials such as: plastic sheets, collages, and abstract elements to convey the message of the human life cycle. She tends to use overlooked books, trash, and newspapers. Her pieces are always spontaneous and unplanned. She draws inspiration from eccentric artists like Elliot Hundley, Monet, and many others. The layering of plastic sheets shows the depth of the human soul. She creates all her pieces with lots of color and imbues it with emotion to convey complexities of humanity. Her goal in art is connecting to the viewer. She is very willing to discuss all aspects of her piece and plans to continue to pursue the visual arts.