My name is Crystal Vaca. I'm a senior at North Salinas High School and am planning on expanding my artistry as I go into college. Coming to the decision of pursuing my education in art wasn't easy, but when I weighed my options of ways I could contribute to the world, there was nothing more fulfilling to the mind and soul than creating a piece of work that spoke to somebody. I hope that in both my personal and professional life, I am able to be authentic to myself and act as a vessel for my voice and the voices of others.

While I enjoy the excitement that comes with working with new mediums, I too enjoy the comfort that comes with using familiar mediums such as watercolors and graphite. A common theme in my art is my life and the observations I've had on the world around me. A great deal of my pieces are influenced by my day-to-day life, whether that be buildings, people, or concepts. As I explore the world inch by inch or as a whole, even taking a different street home or having a conversation with someone out of the ordinary, the slightest new knowledge can drastically inspire and be worked into my art.

My piece is called "Cheery," derived from the food around the baby’s head, Cheerios. I made this piece hoping to reflect the absolute bliss one has as a child. From the moment you're born until the moment you've realized childhood has passed you, you're seeing and experiencing nearly everything for the first time, and everything is particularly extraordinary. This can be seen by the lively colors in the background all going in an organized chaos reflecting the feeling of joy and curiosity also captured by the look on her face, marked by the slight raise in her eyebrows. I think as a society we've found a way to shorten this feeling of hope and wonder that is often carried within childhood. But it's people like my art teacher, Ms. Emmons, whose baby portrait this is, that carry that sense of hope and wonder throughout their entire lives and reflect it onto those around them. It's important we remind ourselves of the lively feelings we felt in childhood as a way to not allow the world to make us dull.