“One of my main inspirations for my art is identity. To me, being an artist has been more than being a person that creates art. To me, it means viewing the world differently and creating work to make the world feel something—to make the world question themselves when they view my art. I have been making and selling art since elementary school in various mediums- painting, drawing, sewing, and photography. I had a business for three years during Covid selling dog bandanas globally and now have been taking photography seriously for over two years and started my own business, “Indi Visions.” Indi is short for Individuality and Visions represents the endless stories you can express. My business motto is, “Understanding the importance of one’s individuality, its importance in expression, and its effects on ourselves and our outer worlds.” Communicating an important message through a wordless script isn’t always easy, which is why I am so grateful to have such a strong network of friends, teachers and family to support me and my art.”

“Family Tree: My tree, and the teapot & cups discussed next, are a part of my AP 3-D art portfolio focusing on aspects of identity. The inspiration behind my tree was feeling disconnected from my own family’s history. My dad is adopted and we know very little about his ancestry other than his birth parents are Jewish and Black, and it has been hard for me because I want to be able to celebrate and be proud of my heritage. Throughout my years in school, we would often have projects or days to celebrate our heritage and I always felt left out as my family doesn’t have strong ties to any one ethnicity. Being bi-racial added another layer. It was hard when I was younger, but now I’ve learned to be proud of my ancestry even without much knowledge. My tree represents creating your own family history with a tree on top of a vessel containing examples of what I consider heirlooms from my life. The shells are from traveling. Vacations have been when my family gets to spend true quality time together. The film canister is for my family’s love for films and photography. With my dad working in the film industry, I was exposed to unique aspects of it at a young age which inspired me to pursue photography. I love being able to capture fun moments to keep alive forever in the form of photos. The dog collar is for all the dogs in my family and my love for animals. Not pictured, is a recipe card to represent the mac n cheese recipe my grandma makes every year at Christmas. I’m creating my heritage to pass along.

Feel: The inspiration for the tea pot and cups was the influence and impact emotions have on our identity. Each color represents a different emotion and many circles have several rings around them symbolizing how sometimes we can experience multiple feelings at the same time. The circle also represents how emotions return throughout our lives. How we control our emotions impacts how others will view and respond to us. We can feel anger, but we don’t have to be an angry person. YOU make the choice to let your emotions define you or not.

“Hey Black Boy-Jordan” is part of a four-piece project that highlights stereotypes of Black teen boys and how they affect them and who they become and was inspired by my local community. Being a young mixed black girl growing up in a predominantly white environment has its hardships and seeing how it affects my friends and those around me, I wanted to share their stories to help them feel seen and show that their struggles are valid and that they are not alone.”

“Family Tree: Family doesn’t have to be defined by your history and neither do you. Family is what you make it whether your family is made up of people by blood or of people you’ve chosen. Make a life full of memories you’ll be proud of to be remembered. Inspire others to create heirlooms.

Feel: I wanted to create a conversation about normalizing emotions and to not be afraid of them or let yourself be defined by them. Societal pressures often push the belief that in order to be strong you should suppress your emotions. I believe the world would be a much better place if we showed our emotions more and made it safer for others as well.

“Hey Black Boy-Jordan”: Jordan is about the basketball stereotype and the impact sports can have on opportunities. The fence represents a viewpoint into the possibilities of his life while also being a symbol for a prison yard fence. Is he a star on the NBA court or the prison yard court? My goal with this project was to call out the racial stereotypes in today’s society and highlight how they affect our young generation of black kids. We need change. Through my art I hope to achieve this because in order to see change you must be the change.”

“Family Tree: I learned that mistakes can force you to try different techniques, forcing you out of your comfort zone. I had to remake my tree pot three times due to me rushing the process. The first two times I made it using coils and one of those times it collapsed due the sponge being too wet. Patience is important. I was upset at first, but when I remade it the last time, I decided to try a new method. I threw large bowls and stacked them. In the end failure was important because it made me get creative in order to achieve my vision.

Feel: What I learned from making my tea pot was how to throw large and intricate things on the wheel. Before making my teapot I hadn’t thrown anything much larger than a small bowl, but I was up for a new challenge. I threw the body, spout, lid, and cups. They were difficult to make and took me two tries to make them because I wanted them to be the best I could do. A challenge also was painting with underglaze and wanting to ensure the underglaze colors would turn out the way I envisioned them.

“Hey Black Boy-Jordan”: Something I discovered during the process of making this piece is how helpful sketching and making a storyboard for your project is. I initially made sketches of my ideas to not forget them, but also once I was actually taking the photos it made it easier to be able to visually show my model the story I wanted to convey and how he needed to pose. I also researched locations in Minneapolis that fit the aesthetic of a basketball court I had envisioned.”