The theme of my artwork is My Chinese Tradition. My structure is a regular house decorated with Chinese flowers and my Chinese name in the back. It’s important to me because it shows my ethnicity and how I have much respect for who I am.

My artwork symbolizes my Chinese heritage. The flower symbolizes the girl in me, and the Chinese name symbolizes my last name, “Sun.” I chose them to show without words that I am a girl, and I am proud to be Chinese.

I hope my artwork will make viewers interested in how much time it took me to finish it. In this project, I learned how much effort you have to put in, and how you can start from scratch using recycled objects and make it look nice. I also learned that your imagination takes you far.

Johanna Sun
Grade 10

The basketball represents my hobby and favorite sport. One of the most important parts of my project is my last name, in the center. My last name is unique and expresses one of my ethnic backgrounds — Mexican.

The basketball also expresses struggle, dedication and ultimate success. Where I come from, people escape by playing sports. One of the main sports they play is basketball, or streetball, which is one of the ways people stay out of trouble.

What I’m trying to communicate is that sports are not just “a guys’ thing” — girls like sports too. I want people to see that basketball is very powerful, and people who come from even the lowest places can make it and be successful just like the players whose pictures are pasted on the back of my sculpture.

Ashley P. DeLaTorre
Grade 10

I’m Trying to Concentrate
Mixed Media

My structure is in the form of a rabbit that’s trying to concentrate. I chose this because it’s my animal sign. The theme for my project is unity. I used dreads because when most people see a person with dreads, they automatically think something bad. I wanted to show that everyone who has dreads isn’t bad.

Both of my hands are painted a different color. My green hand represents intelligence and that’s why I have a brain inside of it. My black hand means strength and all of the things I’ve been through; that’s why I chose a heart with one broken wing and one good wing.

My moon is yellow because it’s something rare; you don’t see it all the time. It also represents unity because nighttime is when families get together.

Barry Belinsky
Grade 12

My shelter is a place where I can make all the noise I want. It looks like a scary place, and that’s the good part because nobody will disturb me.

Inside my shelter I have human skulls that represent my ancestors. Each is in a different part of evolution. They help keep the place calm and without any disturbance. They are the security of the house — the protectors.

I painted my shelter in six different colors: red represents the blood running through my veins, blue represents the color of the sky, yellow represents the sun, black represents the dark side of me, white the bright side of me, and gray represents the tranquility in my life. The handprints represent me and my signature. This shelter represents how I feel, who I am, and what I like.

Cesar Blanco
Grade 11

A Meal with True Meaning
Mixed media

I chose to do this sculpture because of my daddy. He passed away when I was fifteen and I wanted to express my love for him by making my shelter one of his favorite foods and putting something about him inside. The inside piece is more of a symbol to show how my daddy died before it was his time to go. I chose the inside object because it came from the heart.

My sculpture is called A Meal with True Meaning. I gave it this name because it’s more than just a plate of food. My sculpture says that a certain item can mean a lot to one person. The theme of my piece is satisfaction to one’s inner self; the feeling of being full and ready to rest. I made a plate of spaghetti because it was one of my daddy’s favorite meals.

Henry Lewis
Grade 10

Time
Mixed media

The theme for my sculpture is adventurous treasure hunting. It represents the need for time to figure out what kind of person I am.

I began making my structure as two medieval towers. On each medieval tower there are spiral staircases going around them. In between the two medieval towers there is a spiral that represents time. When I did this project, I used recycled paper towel rolls, Styrofoam, and newspaper.

The difference between the outside and the inside is that the outside shows hard concrete walls, which represent me being a non-open person. I’m shy when it comes to meeting new people. It’s hard for me to adjust to new surroundings. I say that both the outside and the inside pieces are important to me, because both represent me.

Jessica Liu
Grade 11

House of Soul
Mixed media

My structure keeps my thoughts, emotions, feelings and beliefs safe. It is the place where I can be myself and my soul is kept safely to be free. The shelter houses my sadness, happiness and everything that I am feeling. The shape of a modern castle mixed with a church gives it a spiritual feeling

I used bright colors on the outside to capture the audience’s attention. However, the inside is dark and has tears running down the steps. What I wanted to express was, “You think you know, but you have no idea.”

I chose a butterfly for the inside because it represents freedom — it’s free to fly. Sometimes it’s not possible to let your feelings out, so my butterfly is kept safe inside a tower. I hope viewers realize that just as my “House of Soul” protects me, there is also something protecting them too.

Maria Yanez
Grade 10