This painting was based off of my experiences in Iceland where I saw the northern lights dancing above the capital, Reykjavik. The style of this painting is quite mixed, and contrasts between a smooth realism to paint the northern lights in the sky and a textured impressionist style to highlight the city lights below. This contrast also reflects the meaning of the title, Flux and Flow. Mother Nature provides the light show made by nature, or the flow; humanity shares in this beauty by providing the architecture and lights, or the flux. This painting represents the often forgotten harmony of mankind and Earth and the beauty of accepting both sides.

This painting describes a state of transformation, the journey to something more beautiful through the complexities of change. While transitions are often portrayed as seamless, the reality is that they can lead to either a refined version- or a flawed version of its past. For this piece, the grayscale bust of a girl represents one's old self, with a stark black layer to separate it from the colored version, signifying moments of challenges or uncertainty. But ultimately, the darkness paves the way for the uppermost layer, one of color to depict a rejuvenated individual. However, this transition is not flawless; rather remnants of the old self linger behind, illustrated through cracks that crawl through the newfound perfected state. I chose to use gouache for this art piece because I wanted to convey an air of delicacy. Displaying a more timid subject, the use of dark streaks of paint to contrast with its softer hues emphasizes the narrative of a reviving yet flawed transition.

When translated, my Chinese name (“言安”), Yan-An, means “speaking words of peace". As we are witnessing more conflict and turmoil, both here and abroad, I do wonder about my future and what my role will be in a world struggling to find peace. The artwork, entitled “Finding My Voice”, is a drawing using a single ballpoint pen with varying degrees of pressure on sketchbook paper. The first character of my name is boldly featured in the maze of blue ink. This piece is a representation of my journey to discover my true purpose in the hopes of living up to the name given to me by my grandmother.

This artwork represents the "final destination" that cars reach towards the end of their lives. Its symbolic in the sense that several cars, of varying condition and class will eventually wind up in the same place to be dismantled. This highlights the appreciation of life, as the only thing guaranteed in this world is death, which underscores the importance of having experiences and living life to the fullest. I wanted to include intense values in this charcoal piece by giving some extremely dark shadow shapes. With dynamic transitions and contrast, I attempted to make the piece very appealing to look at, not only with detail, but also lighting, intensifying the piece in a positive way. The focal point houses most of the detail, while the edges of the piece show calmer contrast and a bit of lost detail to imitate the way our eyes/brain perceive the world around us. I began by finding various references of junk cars, later merging them into one environment where each of them balance the piece visually. I later added a blurred background to lightly hint at trees, fences, and utility poles, completing the piece.

This piece was reinvented twice over, as was I. In debate, but moreso as an internet citizen, I’ve heard my fair share of mundane discussion. This piece originally represented the state of online speech, where no one listens nor speaks meaningfully– head-shaped mugs: eyeless, unwilling to see; openmouthed, speaking; hollow-eared, unlistening. To carry out my vision, I traveled to Jingdezhen, China, my mom’s hometown, in search of the perfect materials. There, I found the perfect kiln, the perfect glaze, the perfect clay, the perfect tools…I let out a held breath as I closed the kiln’s door, my mugs safely inside. Little did I know, the kiln’s heat would increase slightly too fast. And with one small error, my project literally crumbled overnight. But peering in front of the kiln, searching for a single intact mug, I saw the truth. The bits and pieces of colorful facial parts splattered over each other was stunning, orchestrated chaos. The story behind the cracked clay mouths and broken rims was a testament to what art truly was– not only the result, but the story of creation behind the creation itself. I continue to create for the vivid feeling of liberation in freely splashing bottles of glaze, crumpling a perfect mug, knowing there’s no ugliness to fear because ugliness itself is art. I crave unpredictability. During shipment back to the US, these pieces were lost. I will never see them again, but that’s okay. I’ve learned to covet beauty, and to let it go.

As part of my AP Art Portfolio, I created a graphite portrait of my mother. I referenced a photo taken of my mother and asked her to describe her hair in one word. She said “Fern”

Through my piece, I delve into my losing innocence and immersing into the harsh reality of growing up, overshadowing childhood fantasies. I depict myself in a vibrant princess dress, rich with youthful dreams, in contrast to the uniform industrial buildings, symbolizing the end of fairy tale illusions and the onset of industrialization. The artwork reflects my personal journey from indulging in whimsical realms, into the more complex and less magical reality. The decaying castle represents the disintegration of childhood dreams, juxtaposed with the encroachment of daunting realities of growing up.

I've always been interested in discovering more about Japanese Architecture, especially now that I understand the complexities of Japanese carpentry. I came across an article online on specifics of Japanese residential buildings, and it included a bird's eye view of the structure, a side view of the interiors, and a simple sketch of exteriors. My idea was to take inspiration from the structure with my research to brainstorm a completed, revamped version of a traditional Japanese building. I began by printing out a scaled-up blueprint and constructing the base, in other words, the "Enoshita" of the building. The wooden sticks are cut with precision knives and connected with hot glue. The construction process is of repetition and preciseness. Halfway through construction, the building began taking shape as I worked on separating the interior rooms with thin wooden sticks. I submerged the base of the model with plaster, therefore getting rid of any unevenness of the base. I decided to make a detachtable roof with double-sided tape; the goal was that you could take it off to appreciate the details and complexity of the model or reattach it to showcase the entirety of the building. The finished model had flaws in which some wooden stick measurements were off; in that case, I used sandpaper to sand off some thin wooden sticks poking out of the model.

My work plays a spin on the popular tiktok filter where one's face is morphed into a heart. Rather than the typical distortion, I manipulated the faces to depict the progress of one's relationship. As one moves across the panels the distortion of the girl progressively increases, representing how a typical relationship starts out nice and seemingly perfect yet ends up dysfunctional and disfigured. Ultimately, the viewer is left with a sense of unease as the last panel illustrates the girl warped off the canvas, her face leaving the heart, and thus symbolizing the end of the relationship.

These pieces are entirely crocheted. My inspiration came when it was time to choose a Halloween costume. Reading Dracula had reinvigorated my love for all things gothic. But every year I’m met with the realization that mass-produced costumes are intended to be worn once, and the craftsmanship reflects that. Attitudes towards costumes act as a caricature of modern consumerism. As fast fashion companies have grown into environmentally devastating behemoths, buyers’ expectations of garment quality have plummeted. Crocheting has allowed me to reconnect with clothing, forcing me to slow down and carefully arrange each stitch. The dress was inspired by Morticia Addams' silhouette. I worked the skirt in the round with double crochets and the bodice in rows for a “V” back that laced up for an exact fit. For the shrug, I wanted a spiderweb motif with the conventional raglan form. It was worked in the round with chain stitches and half-double crochets. The cuffs are the one piece of the ensemble I didn’t design myself. I used a pattern from “LunarStill” on Etsy for Victorian lace cuffs. The dress and legwarmers are an alpaca/acrylic blend, the shrug is a wool/acrylic blend, and the cuffs are a bamboo-rayon/Tencel blend. These garments are the culmination of my experiences with fashion, crocheting, and sustainability. As my senior year pushes me to explore future avenues, I’ve realized designing and making clothing is my passion and I plan to pursue this through costume design in my higher education.

Originally named "The Puppet and Her Puppeteer," this piece depicts the struggle of living with anxiety paired with obsessive-compulsive thoughts and patterns. Often, it can feel like your brain is the puppet master, and you are strung up in the air as it whispers cruel thoughts, hoping it won't pull too hard on the strings. I changed the name because it doesn't quite represent the hardest part; there is no outside intrusion, no other person twisting and tangling the strings—there is only you, your thoughts, and what you do with them.

In my piece “Sorcery”, I’m exploring the ways children perceive the world through the merging of reality and fantasy. Through the use of a mirror, I wanted to depict the imagination of children in a seemingly mundane environment, as they tend to find beauty in things that may seem insignificant. Instead of viewing it as a simple bathroom, the child has turned it into a place for experimentation and enchantment with their daydreams. I further emphasized this with the contrast of the warm, saturated scene in the mirror with the more dull and monochrome aspects of reality. I utilized acrylic paint and gouache to not only bring out the bright and saturated colors of fantasy, but also intentionally used looser brushstrokes to represent the simplicity of childhood. In addition to depicting childhood experiences, I also want the viewer to engage with the work in a child-like way. Inspired by books such as I Spy, I intentionally hid specific objects around in my work for the viewer to search for. In this work, there are a total of six ducks for the viewer to find. I hope the audience has as much fun engaging with the work as I did with creating it.

This flower symbolizes how much love i will have for someone special in my life like my mom. It shows that ill love her forever and ever.

This piece was created with gouache and colored pencil on watercolor paper and a book. My artwork is inspired by the magic of childhood stories, and the bittersweet feeling of growing up. I wanted to bring those beloved stories into real life, and recreate what it feels like to be fully immersed in those story tales. I created the inside of the book by cutting a hole through the pages, and pasting the designs inside. This process was a fun challenge for me, especially because I love experimenting with different art forms, and ways I can approach those concepts.

I am initially a blank piece of paper. It is ultimately up to me how I want to inscribe and fold this paper into something beautiful. "Shattered; Bloom" is my first self portrait. I feel that by overcoming the mental block to drawing myself and accepting all my flaws, I am able to present a piece of myself to the world. Only by taking these kinds of risks can one truly bloom. Thus, the act of destruction does not bring a full pause (which would be denoted by a period); instead, it hints that there is something more beautiful to follow.

I had an assignment in art class where I had to draw something in white colored pencil on black paper.

At its heart, this artwork is my confrontation with the duality of my own desires. One facet of my being yearns to embrace and celebrate my cultural heritage, while another longs to emancipate itself from the confines of stereotypical Asian conventions. The backdrop, adorned with intricate blue and white floral designs interwoven with delicate gold, symbolizes the pervasive stereotypes that often shroud Chinese culture. The shattered fragments of this cultural mosaics represent my breaking away from these stereotypes. It beckons us all to ponder the universal question of self-discovery, where we should define who we are, instead of letting society define us.

This artwork symbolizes the emotions of a neglected child, portraying the sense of feeling trapped within the confines of guardian neglect. I wanted to represent the idea of isolation and abandonment felt by neglected children, visually expressing their yearning for attention and care amidst an atmosphere that seems to suffocate them. Despite what children go through, they still want to find happiness in all of their pain. They choose to draw, play, even if no one is around to do those things with them. In all, I hope to have captured the feelings of child being left all alone within their own home.

Homestead 1 explores the turbulence and disruptions I experienced throughout childhood regarding family and mental health issues through imagery of a decayed home.

I made this painting using acrylic paint on a piece of wood. Sunsets and cities are some of my favorite things to paint, so I decided to include them both