Evacuation: Smoke in the Air, Earth in my Heart
La Crescenta, CA
2025, Junior, Art: Handcrafted (2024 – )
Reflection
Reflection
I came up with the idea about my piece when I was thinking about how I connected with nature and my surroundings, where I realized that when the Eaton fire destroyed many of the places I had loved and affected many people around me, I could not believe what had happened. This drawing captured the moment where I was evacuating from home in a car and was checking the growth of the fire with my phone. Along with the Palisades and Hurst fire, circumstances were very difficult for LA county, and I wanted to represent that frustration into my artwork. I recognize how hard the firefighters from LA county, California, and neighboring states worked, and I wanted to acknowledge them. Being creative made me feel dedicated to help preserve nature and California from fires, and I wanted to spread awareness so that people would be better prepared. Along with the smoke that was coming into my life, I created the artwork to spread awareness. I chose to use Acrylic and colored pencils for my mediums, as it was very bold and strong, and also for details and highlights with colored pencils, because I wanted to express the importance of how we need to be prepared for fires and try to prevent damage. I have learned that I am connected to the places I have been to and connected to nature through memories and experiences. I want to spread awareness about the fires of LA and I want the viewers of the artwork to try to prevent nature from being burned away.