Sustained Investigation
Background
As I near high school graduation, I realized people come and go, but it never occurred to me that I would one day be that person. I am filled with anxieties and fears about letting go and moving on to a new phase of my life.
Investigation Question
How can we accept change amidst fear by realizing that there will always be intangible things (memories, relationships, etc.) in life that we never actually have to let go of?
Stop Growing Up
This piece uses a portrait photo of my parents and me, as an infant, to examine change through the perspective of my parents. As I grow older, I question if they reminisce about those times. To respond to my investigation question, my parents and everyone universally can come to terms with the inevitable change of my growing up by understanding that we are composed of layered experiences from our past, present, and future; thus, identity is a strong continuity and never really lost.
Development Work
Directly below is a photo of my first few thumbnails during the process of developing my final piece. I explored how more or less negative space could affect the impact of the piece, as well as taking the first steps to create the glowing effect over the baby.
The dramatic contrast and depth of shadow in Caravaggio’s Inspiration of Saint Matthew influenced how I use lighting to create emotional intensity and focus in my piece.
I further my concept of the golden, memory-laden child through an image overlay effect with close-ups of the infant. I did not end up implementing this into my final piece, but I did maintain the surrounding glow.
Final Piece
I began with a simple pencil sketch. Then, I moved on to completing my parents with charcoal. Finishing the baby was the difficult portion of the process because I was still unsure of what medium to use. I decided that the chalk pastels would easily blend with the charcoal, and to bring more emphasis to my baby portrait, I painted designs similar to those that frequently appear in the Disney rendition of Rapunzel.
Stop Growing Up, Oct. 2025, charcoal, acrylic paint, chalk pastel, 19” x 24”
My House is the One with the Big Tree
Through a self-portrait with a fantastical tree inspired by childhood memory, this piece expresses how holding onto the intangible anchors of our past allows us to accept change with a sense of solace rather than fear. Why I want to depict myself with my front yard tree is because it has been a pillar in my life since I can remember. Therefore, it plays the role of the “intangible” thing that I never have to let go of.
Development Work
Hiroo Isono’s Into the Depths of the Sacred Forest collection inspired the fantastical depiction of the tree in my work. His detailed, dreamlike forests capture the sense of wonder I associate with childhood, influencing how I transformed my real front yard tree into a symbol of memory and continuity because the tree remains the same as I grow and change.
This is a picture of me, posing in front of my childhood tree on my first day of kindergarten that I used as a reference for my piece.
I began with several development sketches to experiment with the composition of the tree and figure. I also attempted to capture the emotions and features of my young self.
Final Piece
The image with the pink underpainting was my original piece; however, it felt unfinished, so I refined it by repainting the backgrounds to create more depth and an overall cooler palette, as you can see in the image where the borders are taped. Using smaller brushstrokes for individual details, I completed the final piece.
My House is the One with the Big Tree, Sept. 2025, acrylic paint, 16” x 20”
Translucency
In this piece, I use a progression of a figure–a woman representing myself–and her poses becoming increasingly expressive to depict my recent phase of becoming more open and true to myself. The sheer fabric connects with accepting change because it suggests that although our outermost qualities may transform, the key inner contents within us remain continuous. We can use this mentality to allow change to enter our life while still being rooted and without fearing of losing aspects of ourselves.
Development Work
Giuseppe Sanmartino’s The Legend of the Veiled Christ has a mysterious and hushed atmosphere, which I aimed to evoke in my piece. I also took inspiration from the wet and sheer fabric depicted in the bottom right-most image that I have included to convey the black and white palette I planned to use,
In my first thumbnail , I did not think about the order the figures were in. In the second one, I decided to make each woman more active in their pose than the next. In doing so, I solidified the theme of my final piece: becoming vulnerable.
Included as a source of inspiration for this project.
The charcoal study on draping was to prepare for my final piece, in which I would heavily rely on fabric to convey vulnerability tied to movement.
Final Piece
Translucency, Nov. 2025, white colored pencil, 20” x 15”