The moment I entered high school I was so prepared to explore all the options I had for art classes, I had ideas pouring from my hand onto my works. Eventually, that passion started to slow down, either I wasn't happy with the smallest of details or had no idea what to make. Because of this I found it hard to turn things in on time, making my teachers worry about me.

But with a little advice from them I realized that art should be something that I enjoy; I shouldn’t treat it like a job because it's a hobby I'm passionate about. I should create works that are fun to make. This is why I included my works from the beginning of this year. I feel that showing my progress from making overly worked-on faces, to silly little clowns, shows my progress from this year. I put too much emphasis on realism that I didn't realize people could see through my art and see that I didn't enjoy making them. It was a harsh transfer but when I switched it was a lot easier to create pieces I was proud to show others.

When people see my work I hope they can see my progression and realize art is something to enjoy, especially if they’re stuck on what to make next. I enjoyed my concept of clowns because they have such a wide range of emotions or themes to follow. They are expressive figures and are easy to experiment with, creepy or cute.

Art has never been more than a hobby for me, I may not want to pursue a job with my works but I will always want to illustrate wherever I am in life. That is why when I struggled with my work this year it had such an emotional impact on my life.

I almost wanted to quit. But the adrenaline from being happy with the way a stroke of my pen came out or seeing the final piece come together was too addicting to stop. I’m glad I was able to move past this hardship this year because it helped me learn a lot and i'll definitely carry this experience with me for the rest of my life.