Reflection

Living in California, I have witnessed countless wildfires throughout my life. I’ve watched my friends lose their homes and have to evacuate from the very places they’ve known their whole lives. Yet, the idea of wildfires happening and hurting the biodiversity around me is so normalized because of how often it happens. Through my painting, I want to raise awareness about the extent of the dangers of wildfires. The person in the piece represents me with the fiery colors symbolizing the impact that wildfires have made on me. Through my experiences, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for the firefighters who have helped my community and have developed a desire to also contribute to my community. The charcoal in the background of my piece represents the ash and smoke I’ve witnessed firsthand in my neighborhood. As it was a sight I will never forget, I also hoped to emphasize the air pollution that can occur through the suffocating soot. There are red teardrops on my face which represent the built up sadness I felt for others over the years. This contrasts the blue water coming from my chest which is used to extinguish the constant fires. The waters represent my respect for the efforts that go into putting out these wildfires every year. Wildfires transformed from a pain for me and my loved ones into a source of motivation to raise awareness for these causes. I’ve seen firsthand how it harms my community and in an effort to reduce wildfires, I hope my painting tells a story of how detrimental climate change is in creating harmful events.