Collaborators: Susie- Christian Dior Hickman- Jackson
Grade: 12

Materials: Digital artwork
Dimensions: 7 x 10 inches
Description: This is my “Loteria Card” for my digital imaging class and it was the first time I truly got to express my background and have no limits. I chose Sonny from the movie Bronx Tale. He is an Italian mobster leader. I specifically picked this movie is because it surrounds inter-racial relationships which coming from that point in time, it was seen as a sin. Within the movie, C and Jane said screw the rules and traditions and they followed their hearts. Even the fact that my parents grew up around the same time and had to go through that. Being that my mom is Puerto Rican and my dad is Italian it hits close to home.

I specifically chose Sonny out of all the other characters because i feel like people who have seen this movie see his as a bad influence and since he’s apart of a gang his is scum which is so not true his famous line is “you gotta do what your heart tells you to do”and I completely agree with this logic.

Artist Statement: Growing up I always had moments where I didn’t know how to say what I was feeling I felt words couldn’t describe what I was feeling. Instead of sitting in my room starting at a blank wall I chose to pick up my pencil and trace an image I found in Google and color it in. I enjoyed it so much that I would do it every week. It got to a point where I wanted to see if I could do more than just trace an image I found on Google. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was in my room and I found this picture of a girl who was doing gymnastics and something drew me in to draw that picture so the process began. I started with her feet and worked my way up. I felt a feeling of freedom because I could do anything I didn’t have to follow some line telling me to turn this way and make a triangle. I could do anything. For a kid who was 8 this was a great feeling because I was always being told what to do from my parents and family even at school it was nice to have that freedom and escape from the world. I went to show my mom and she truly made me feel like Picasso. Looking through my artwork to find pictures for my submission really brought me back to a time where everything was so clear and really showed me the opportunity art has given me. Throughout the years I continued to draw for fun but I didn’t just color in a picture with crayons I moved to painting, water pens, I even tried charcoal. The list goes on. I grew to love art so much that I am going to minor in art so I can have a small career in the future. Long story short, I want to thank art for helping me and I hope I can show my gratitude by showing off what I can do.

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