This story is the result of reading climate-related news articles and books about oligarchies in one sitting.

This is a piece that I wrote for the Micros and Minis contest in my Creative Writing class. It had to be exactly one hundred words long, and if it won, a student in the drawing and painting program would illustrate it. Although this piece is entirely fictional, it is based on some of my experiences. I used the death of my dog as inspiration for my piece. When he passed away, my family and I were on vacation, which made it feel as though we were lightyears away from him. I tried to infuse that grief with a more fictional element in order to make it more interesting to read and also write.

A swirl of emotions, a mix of surprise. As I stared at the darkness, disbelief in my eyes. A taste of bitterness, not from the rind. But from the revelation of what I would find. The sweet illusion shattered, dreams dispersed. In the world of fruits, this one was cursed. A captivating lemon, with allure to share? Yet cloaked in shadows, secrets laid bare. The aroma misled. A deceptive clue. I pondered the meaning, what did it construe? The sour and sweet, a metaphor, perhaps. Life's contradictions, its intricate traps. Sometimes what glitters is not pure gold. Beneath the facade, the true story is told. The knife in my hand, a tool of truth. Unveiling the secrets, uncovering the truth. I gazed at the lemon, now torn and laid bare. A cautionary tale, a lesson to beware. I cleaned the knife, set the lemon aside. Reflecting on the journey, this emotional tide. A sprinkle of sour, a dash of sweet. Life's unpredictable flavors, a challenge to meet.

This photo captures the beauty of my friend's hair when she rakes her fingers through it. I used studio lighting for this picture which helped to capture the glossy, silky, and smooth texture of her hair. Although she does have blonde hair, I chose to make the image in monochrome because it allows the subject (my friend) to blend in with the background and still have the audience drawn to her shining hair. I love the movement in how she rakes her fingers through her hair, as well as the overall beauty of this image.

This piece depicts a subject (me) eerily alone in a dark barn, looking behind them into the darkness in search of something. This was taken during my personal exploration of the loneliness that characterized much of my youth, living in such a rural area, focusing on my confusion surrounding solitude, in that it should be uncomfortable, yet remains comfortable due to its unplaceable sense of nostalgia. I ensured I captured this photograph devoid of external help, thereby making myself utterly alone in the process, with only a tripod, digital camera, and flash at my disposal. Such a flash symbolizes my revealing and realization of my isolation – as, without that split second of intense light emanating from that flash, I would remain shrouded in darkness, all others oblivious to me and my search for anything. The barn, in itself, holds sentimental value, as it resides directly next to the house in which I spent a large portion of my youth, enacting a distinct sense of familiarity that exacerbates this nostalgia that I was attempting to ascertain, and recognizing the solace that I find in places, rather than people, in the darkest of times.

This piece of artwork was taken in Sedona Arizona in the birthing cave which is a hike.

This artwork was inspired by Harold Edgerton's "Milk Drop Coronet". This artwork encourages the consideration of time passing and how it can speed by as fast as light or creep along at a snail's pace. The milk was dropped into a cast iron pan by my friend while I shot from an overhead angle at 1/8000 s.

I was inspired by how I could use miscellaneous objects lying around my bedroom to represent myself as a whole. Each object embodies a part of me and tells a special, hidden story. For instance, the Vietnamese currency depicts my ethnicity, the paintbrushes, pens, and pencils represent my love for art, and the Cross represents my Catholic beliefs. Each item also resurfaces small or significant memories, such as when I bought canned tea from my school's vending machine with my friend, and I looped the can tab on a necklace. Or when I traveled to Vietnam with my family and got a fancy, 1908 French souvenir coin from a historic landmark, enabling me to learn about my roots and Vietnam's history. My artistic process started with scanning the objects through a printer. I then took a picture of the print and used photoshop to remove the background and adjust the colors, allowing a saturated and vibrant effect.

I’ve been capturing sports for the past three years and as cheesy as it sounds, part of what I love about photography is the ability to freeze a moment in time and capture all of the emotion that is present. Here Oakland Roots SC goalkeeper, Paul Blanchette, pours water over himself prior to the kick-off. You can see the water droplets flying off of him as he shakes his head in an attempt to relax, lit by the stadium lights. The beauty of this nervous, yet human behavior right as the game is about to begin brings a sort of peacefulness despite the suspense, and it pulls you into the moment. Something I also value about photography, is the ability to transport the viewer into that exact fraction of a second which is especially valuable with capturing sports. I hope that with this photo, you too can feel the anticipation present as the game was about to begin in this split second.

Two characters of mine that I hope someday they’ll appear in a graphic novel/book I make. :)

As an introverted student who enjoys spending time alone indoors, the COVID pandemic served me extremely well.

It is a statement on Marine life and shows how special marine biodiversity is and how we have to protect our Marine ecosystem.

As I grow older I realize more and more that I don’t know who I am.

The reason for this assignment was to create something using materials we had not previously experimented with.

I wanted to convey how powerful a lion is and combine the animal with the lionfish.

I really enjoy using procreate to draw, and i decided to draw one of my characters, Layla.

Although I am somewhat fearful of arachnids, I find the Black Widow spider fascinating.

This is a charcoal work on a Greek woman sculpture on top of a harp.

I drew my piece based on the theme of western and Aztec as a Latina I have grown up with western vaquero type style and I have always enjoyed the pattern and colors.

I made this art work using a photo that I took at a concert.