Artist Statement:
My body of work presents a culmination of artwork that I have meticulously designed throughout my time as an undergraduate student from classes to internships. With my strong background in illustration, it has aided me to create designs such as my tea box that displays my eye in combining text with art. This is also seen with my makeup line series, where I have created a makeup package identity called Inclusa, which focuses on bringing playfulness and fun to makeup for all skin tones and gender identities at an affordable price. As an Anthropology and Studio Art student, I strive to find ways to combine my interests in humanities and the arts, such as my infographic piece titled, School-to-Prison Pipeline, that visually represents a pressing societal issue. Even outside the 2D world, I can translate my strong design and illustration skills through animation, where I created a zodiac piece of a flying butterfly. With the design and animation skills I have gained through my classes, it flourished in my pieces throughout my multiple internships, such as my ABC7 Chicago internship where I got to create a poster for their most renowned investigative journalist, Chuck Goudie. Outside of design, I have always had a passion for mixed media and collage. Textiles have always been a strong interest of mine as I have grown up watching the women in my family sew beautiful South-Asian textiles. Using the pieces my aunt in India gave me from her work as a seamstress, I have created my own quilt honoring the creative women in my family while exploring my identity through the use of textiles and colors.
Art Making and Jesuit Reflection
Coming into college, I knew I had strong strengths within the arts and the humanities and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue anything within art. I was scared of having difficulty in finding a job within the art field. So, I decided to only pursue Anthropology at the time and spent most of my freshman year focusing on non-art related courses. Over time however, I realized that I missed art and that I yearned to pursue visual art in some capacity. Taking the graphic design courses, I realized that there is so much to do within the graphic design field and that I can take in my illustration background to aid me in graphic art.
Another thing that the SLU undergraduate program has encouraged me to do was being able to explore both my Anthropology and Graphic Design ventures. Originally, I decided to go to SLU over a traditional fine arts college because I wanted the opportunity to explore other majors other than art. I like how SLU encourages teaching in all fields of the arts. I am happy to have explored various core classes throughout my time here because the institution encourages students to explore their majors and to become well-rounded intellects. And throughout my time here, my professors have encouraged me to explore both fields and find intersections between the two. Especially when I was applying for internships, many recruiters found it fascinating that I studied both fields, which gave me a cutting edge to the competitive market. Therefore, I am glad I chose SLU because the university has given me the chance to explore and pursue many facets of my interests.
SLU also nurtures community and I have found that here by joining clubs that are related to my interests. I was the Secretary of Anthropology Club for two years and I got to meet a lot of other Anthropology majors, while using my creative talents to promote the club on social media. Throughout college, I was heavily involved with the art club on campus, called CreateSLU, which gave me a space to create art and meet other creatives. I loved being President my final year and encouraging people to pursue their interests in art and creating a safe space for them to practice it. I’m glad SLU promoted these spaces and fostered community for anyone with similar interests and skills.
The most exciting moment of my graphic design career so far was being accepted into The Walt Disney Company internship program to intern for ABC7 Chicago’s design team. I was so shocked getting my acceptance letter and nervous about taking a year off to pursue this internship. Luckily, I knew I was prepared enough due to the classes I took. My bosses were very impressed with how fast I was able to design things because I’m used to working on tight deadlines with my classes and managing other time commitments. They were also impressed by my animation pieces that I made during my Computer Art 1 class. Towards the end of my internship, I asked my manager why they accepted me and they were generally impressed by my excitement during the interviews and how I was studying both Anthropology and Art. Compared to past interns they’ve had, the managers have encountered students who haven’t had much experience with Adobe products so I impressed them easily due to my experiences in my graphic design courses.
One of the most important things that has helped my entire career is how my professors critique my work and pushed me to think farther. As an artist, it is important to take criticism in order to improve your artwork. I always took suggestions from my professors seriously and wanted my professors to be honest with my work so that I could improve it. I appreciated when professors noticed my interest in art and gave me extra suggestions and encouragement. It made me confident in my work and to continue pursuing my passion for art.
