Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

My favorite artwork to create always tells a story, regardless of the medium. I enjoy creating art that pulls me into the narrative, or makes me look at a concept from a new perspective. I've been illustrating stories since I was a small child, and as an adult I tend to return to familiar stories and retell them with the skills, knowledge, and experience I acquire as I age. But most of all, my favorite kind of art to create is the kind that people connect with and feel seen in.

Where do you find inspiration?

Much of my artwork is a strange amalgamation of my life experiences -- the good, the bad, and the trauma -- as well as mythologies and fantasies that I grew up with. I also pull from my ethnic cultures and heritages; I'm native Hawai'ian + Welsh on my father's side, and Bohemian-Czech + English, German, French on my mother's. In recent works, I've been looking at themes featured in our society as well, such as human creativity in the time of AI and social justice as it pertains to current events

What would you do with $25,000?

I'm a single mother, disabled, and currently a fulltime student and professional illustrator and graphic designer for the music industry. I would set up nest-eggs for my three children, take care of the rest of my debt, and use the remaining to further my art education. After I acquire my BFA in Illustration, I'd like to get my Masters degree abroad in Europe. I'd pack up my little family and head oversees!