Reflection

Reflection

When I first heard about this year’s prompt, I immediately thought of all of my experiences here in California. In my mind, I saw California poppies, Monarch butterflies, whales off the Bay Area coasts, local sea otters in Monterey, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which became my main inspiration. I’ve always loved going to the aquarium since I was a child, staring up at the various creatures in wonder and awe. The world beyond that glass was always mysterious and curious to me– a world at my fingertips in the Bay I could witness up close through the aquarium. Being visually creative helps me capture and express my feelings and ideas. It is a vessel of my thoughts that can also stand on itself, having unique meanings to each viewer. I chose to do this piece digitally because I felt it was the best medium to achieve the level of detail and lighting to best portray my experiences and one I’m very familiar with. While exploring the contest theme, I’ve been inspired by how we can benefit from nature. Spending time in nature can greatly benefit our physical, mental, and emotional health. I’ve also learned more about how important it is to and how capable we are of protecting our world. Within our local communities alone we have many opportunities to help build resilience against environmental changes. Thus, my artwork is a personal example of how we can connect to nature, confined to my life in the Bay Area of California, but all around the world, everyone has their own unique experiences.