Wonder
Lexi Z.
Pencil, paper
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My piece, titled "Wonder," depicts a young child clinging onto his mother's back, gazing out at his audience with curiosity-filled eyes. Even before starting to sketch, I found myself captivated by my reference photo, by the wonder in the child's eyes. He reminded me of my younger self, curious about everything in the world around me; from a dog barking on the street to a rainbow appearing in the sky after a light shower, many of these everyday occurrences for us, now, were once so new and fascinating to us as children. What changed? I pondered over this transformation from wide-eyed innocence to a more practical outlook on life as I sketched over the period of three days, each one an eight hour cycle of eat, draw, eat, draw, eat, sleep, repeat. The child's gaze, filled with such fascination and awe, became a portal through which I could revisit my own past, a nostalgic reminder of the time when I was eager to explore even the simplest of things. "Wonder" is not just a simple drawing of a child and his mother; it's a reflection on the universal journey of growing up and the inevitable transformation of our perspectives. Though the fragility and beauty of those fleeting moments may be difficult to rediscover, I hope that this piece invokes within the viewer that same sense of innocent curiosity about the world, serving as a reminder of the precious, ephemeral nature of childhood wonder.
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Creativity is an outlet where I can immerse myself in the joy of creating something beautiful, leaving behind the stress of my high school career to focus on myself. Specifically, making visual art helps me understand myself better, all the while communicating for me what I cannot put into words.
