¡Colores!; 2514; APS Metro Youth Art Exhibit, Disc 1

Let's see. I'm sorry. Okay. I don't know why. Yeah. Set and ruling. Why do you love APS Metro art exhibition? I love the APS Metro art show because having been in the district and seen the show for so many years, I do notice some of the student's names and I know that they were young artists in our program in elementary school and to see them continue that passion and that love for art into middle and high school. And the change in their growth as an artist has been one of the things that I really love about this show. What do you love about working with students? What I love about working with students is they are each unique and they bring their own stories and their own experiences to everything they do in the arts and a lot of times you can see that in their artwork.

What they have experienced in life or what they're trying to say through their artwork. And every day is a different experience when you work with children and young adults. Okay. So I'm going to ask you the same question again, and this time instead of repeating that, you know, what I love about it, the APS Metro art, just say APS Metro art is instead of just because then it gives that passion and it kind of drives it. Okay. So why do you love APS Metro art show? The APS Metro youth art show is an example of what we can provide for students K through 12, even pre K through 12th grade. When we put on art shows in the elementary school and we see student artwork and then see it, those same students in our middle schools and our high schools producing and showing art, the growth of those students is so profound and incredible to see them from when they

were six or seven and learning to hold a paintbrush. And then when they've moved beyond that and into high school and the pieces that you'll see here, into their own development as an artist through over several years. Yeah. It's so beautiful. There's even like a portfolio prize, which is a scholarship. Right. So, you know, in that vein, you know, like, how does art help such a good girl? Students, when a child or all of us, not just children, but they're able to problem solve things that happen when they're creating art work. Why is creativity important for young people?

Creativity is important for young people because a lot of times, yeah, I keep doing that now. It's okay. I understand why it totally makes sense, but if you just start, creativity is really important like, okay, and I'm feeding you if that's the way it is. Right. No, no. I like that you're doing that. I want you to have what you want. And, you know, I'm just, I'm creating in the moment, I'm improvising. Creativity is important for students, especially, I think, artisan, can I start over? Okay. Creativity is important for students because young people don't always have the words to explain how they're feeling or to explain an experience. And through their creativity, they're allowed to speak things that they can't verbalize. They don't often have words for something so intuitive and personal, or they're not willing to share those words, but they'll share their art work.

And it provides so much for them as an avenue and an outlet to communicate with all of us, a little piece of who they are and what they're trying to say, and all of the things that they overcome when they're creating these pieces of art, the mistakes and the redoes. You don't often hear about those, but when you see this incredible display of their work, you know that that's ours and ours of them. I didn't think about that, you know, it wouldn't be bad to turn it off for a second. No, it wouldn't be bad to turn it off. Karen, is this yours again? Do we need to start over that? Good. So, what you're saying is, art helps kids grow. Definitely, art helps kids grow in ways that we can't teach in a classroom, but we can

coach, we can facilitate by providing the tools for them to grow on their own. That's much harder in a math class. That's much harder, right, and in an art class, they get to determine what goes into that. There's no right answer, there's no box, it's not think outside the box, there's no box, just go, just take what you have, here are the tools, and if there's something there that you need that you don't see, let's find it, it helps them grow emotionally, it helps them grow cognitively, it's... Could you use the word art and put it in? Yeah, that'd be great. I'll tell you why, because you know, as the director, I'm music and art, and so I always want to say the one and the other together, so it's hard sort of separating them, I keep stopping myself, because I want to say music and art helps children, you know what I mean,

so that's what I'm stumbling on, just so I'm trying to stick with the art side. You could say, go ahead and you're fine, thank you, yeah, I know, we're hitting our visual art audience, so I'll try to... I mean, I hate visual art, you know, so, why do you love and wait until that goes, once that closes, there we go, why do you love working with students? I'm just like, you know, working with students is amazing, because, like, why do you love working with students? Do you work with students? I don't directly, but I do, I mean, providing this opportunity, maybe, can we go that route?

Okay, so I love and feel honored to be able to provide this opportunity for students in Albuquerque Public Schools to provide this venue and this arena for them to be able to show their work for starters in a semi-professional type of setting and then to be able to show their families, to me, that's one of the best parts is tonight at the opening, is seeing the families come in and taking pictures of their students by their artwork and it's like the family wins the award, not just the child, because, you know, they've watched, they've watched the crumbled up pieces and they, you know, they've watched the stress and they've heard about it at dinner and so to see this artwork in the display and then merit awards and other types of recognition is, to me, what this is about, the students and the families, celebrating the student artists.

How does art making help students achieve goals? Art making help students achieve goals in many ways, I would say the biggest one is tenacity, you know, continuing to try something and try it again and solve a problem of a piece of clay that will not go in that place where you had wanted and saw in your head that piece of clay should go and it's just not working and just that stick to itness and perseverance to make this, create this piece, you know, 3D, 2D, whatever it is that you see in your head or you're seeing as you go and wanting to just work hard and persist to get this to the place where you look at it yourself and you're proud of the work and I think that crosses lines into so many aspects of our life, you know, in our personal relationships

and our jobs, you know, that stick to it, keep moving forward, keep trying new things and eventually you will get to what you're satisfied and proud of in the end. So it's kind of like problem solving skills yourself? Definitely, problem solving skills, I mean all kinds of, you know, like I said, persistence, problem solving, sometimes you have to work together, you know, what you see here, you often attribute to one single person because their name is on, on the artwork, but a lot of times there's a lot of cooperative learning that went into that, you know, the teacher and the student, other students, you know, they'll ask each other, how did you do that in that piece of artwork you did? Can you show me and maybe I couldn't use something along those lines? So we're not just creating this in a studio behind a closed door, we're creating these pieces of art in classrooms where we have input from peers and adults in the room and we're problem solving together.

What are the ingredients for student success and maybe start with like student 65? Students succeed by having this opportunity, by having teachers who work with them and guide them and facilitate their growth. They succeed by having opportunities to share what they've done to not like I, you know, I've mentioned before, not just creating something, yeah, there's all kinds of stuff. Sorry. And try not to say as I said before, because sometimes I'm asking you almost to repeat things. Yeah, that's what I'm trying to. That's what I'm trying to do. Okay. And so I might edit it at a different time. Okay. So try not to refer to that. Yeah, it's okay if you repeat things. Okay.

All right. So, you know, so, so what are the ingredients for student success? How do students succeed? How does art help them? That's, I was, I was having a hard time, I guess, with the question too. So art helps students succeed by providing opportunities that they don't normally get, you know, they don't, they don't always get an opportunity to show their work. They don't always, if, if they have role models, okay, I don't know where I'm going with this. Hold on. Just, because at first I was like, what helps the student succeed in now? Success. Like, what do students need? Do you feel like, to succeed and how does art help them, you know, I mean, as art and ingredient for students success? Art is definitely an ingredient for student success. I had something and then it sort of jumped out. Hold on a second, because it was, I thought it was all right, yes, I had it back.

Art is definitely, what was the, sorry, I'm all distracted now with all these little interruptions. I mean, one more time, I'm sorry. So are you going to say that art is definitely an ingredient for students success? Yes, yes. Art is definitely an ingredient for student success, because there are, there are other people you see when, when students are in art classes, sometimes they feel isolated, maybe in their circle, that they might be the only artist, and for them to have this opportunity of showing their art, they see other people not just in their school or in their classroom, but across the district, across the city, who are having similar experiences as they are and similar successes, and that puts value to that, that puts value to that, that piece of being an artist, of that, not only do your peers value it, adults value it, people,

you know, we have the county purchases pieces from this show, we have a lot of people from throughout the city who come to the show and purchase student artwork, and that, you can see that in the students too, that pride, and I created something that's of value that I don't just value personally, but other people see the value of it too, and that definitely sets all of us up for success, I mean we all, you know, we like that approval and that, wow, that connection of you see what I saw as the artist, and so, I'm not sure if you've arted with it, I know that it's always like, if it's a big thing to put together, like, you're trying to make something out of nothing, you know, so like, so, so what do you want to achieve by giving the students this opportunity to show their work?

By having the Metro art show, I hope we, I don't know how to start that, sorry, to get into that, but I know what I want to say. What I hope we achieve through this show is pride and awareness of self, and awareness of not just an appreciation, but a love of art, and also seeing that art can be a career and a way of life, it doesn't have to be something you do on the side or a hobby, that this is a valued, true gift that you have, or talent that you possess that other people value, and the community values, the world values,

you know, it's part of who we are and how we connect, and when you, when I see students, and I see them at the show, and how proud they are of each other, to me, that, to see them interact with their peers is truly inspiring. The respect that they give each other, the way they're carrying themselves, stop and ask one of them about their artwork, what were you, can you give me just tell me about this, you know, just start with the medium, why did you choose pencil, and then all of a sudden you're, you've made this connection with this young artist because they're telling you pieces of themselves that they put into this artwork, and it's very personal, yet it's very public when it's hanging in a display like this. So for me, to see these students just beam and smile and stand up straighter and almost looking at you, begging you to ask them about their artwork so that they

can, they want to share it, and they're so proud. To me, that, that's, this is hours and hours of work, and every minute is worth it for tonight. So, is there anything that you really wanted to say that I didn't ask you about? There is. You can see that space is limited here, and as much as you know, that we would love to have a space as big as the convention center to hang every piece of artwork, you know, at some point we have to call it down and put it in a show like this. So, as much as we, this is not just, this is not just the only art in the district, you know, this is a sampling of what's happening across the district, not just, not just the best of the best. It's just a little sample of everything that students and teachers

are doing on a daily basis in classrooms across the city. Yeah, totally. Yeah, and that's why I don't want kids walking away feeling like, well, I didn't make it in the show or, you know, this is, this is a good sample, a good mix of what all is happening. Yeah, competition is hard, you know, like how do you, I mean, I guess that's just that the world is life and so I'm kind of like real world experience. And one of the things I am really proud of as well is that we do carefully choose people to jur the show so that I would not want to make those decisions because it's very difficult to make decisions about people's creativity. It is. And that's why we're careful about who we ask to make those decisions and they're thoughtful of the students and what goes into it.

Yeah, like, I have a question. I have a question. Right. I do. Art, to me, there's no definition. I don't know, you know, I chose to merit awards and they're very different. And I walked the whole show and there were many pieces that kind of spoke to me. And in the end, you know, I chose to. And they spoke to me for two very different reasons and I'm not even sure I could put that towards. Just like music, you hear a piece of music and gives you the chills or an emotional reaction and you don't always know why.

And for me, that's what I walk up to something and it just captivates me. And whether it's the elements, the line, the color, the way, you know, space was used. Or I can maybe see an emotion that's in there. I don't always know why certain pieces speak to me. It's amazing how the art does that. And these kids are getting to play with that. Yeah. And give me that experience. You know, that something they've done gives that to me. You know, that they, whether they're six or sixteen, they're capable of doing that. So you love lawyers. I do. I do. What made you start to mean this? I inherited this, but it was started a long time ago for many of the reasons that I've stated here. You know, to give students this opportunity to, it's like college and career readiness, almost to get into the world and say, this is what you do if you're going to show art.

Same thing in the music world. That's why we do performances. This is how you, you know, this is one way you could do this as a career, this is one way you could do this, the rest of your life. And let's go through these steps and you have to mat it. And you have to, you know, make it certain ways and make it, it has to be this sort of presentation. And that's an important thing to learn as you move into either college or the professional, you know, being a teaching artist or a practicing artist, you learn those things, how to hang a show, how to participate in a show, how to deal with a gallery. You know, all of those things are preparing students, giving them the experiences. How long have you guys been doing this? I want to say at least 20 years. Because you've been doing this since. We have been doing this show about 18 to 20 years in APS.

We used to have this show at the State Fairgrounds and we quickly outgrew that space. So we've had to, we've had to move it around a little bit to try to find where it's going to kind of live. I find it really astounding to walk through and see just the talent and execution in the weeks. Yes. It's really well done. There's a lot of amazing work. Yes, and that is a complete, complete, contribute, I would, that is the teachers and the students. That's that day to day happening in their classroom. And a show like this, the other thing I would like to just make note of is this artwork wasn't created in January. This artwork wasn't created in November. A lot of the pieces you see here have been being worked on and tweaked and revamped and some even started over in September, October.

And that was one of the things about having this show in February. You know, as the teachers say, we need time. We need a little more time. Can you move it just a little bit so that we have more time for the students to really own their craft and experiment and try so that they can do their best to be and be proud of what they do. It's pretty good, I think. You even stand around the corner the whole time? Yes. Did I, how long have we been doing it? Like 20 minutes maybe. Okay, this is the 3 seconds room done. It's ready now.

Alright, speed. Hi, we'll be over there in just a second. So in one word, what is art? For me, art is adventurous. Awesome. Why do you create? Because it's my passion, I get to explore myself, I get to put who I am into my art. Could you tell me about the piece that you made? So other than art, I am also a musician and that's my second passion and I absolutely love music.

And I wanted to represent that somehow and so I took a really big brass instrument and I wanted to show it's keys and it's beauty into one nice picture. It's a silver print. Why do you, what medium do you work in and why? Like medium is like painting or photography. Or silver print in particular. So I work in silver printing because it's really hands on but it's like I'm not really good at drawing but I'm really good at taking photos. So I can incorporate my photo skills and to like to... What do you love about using the camera? You get to control a lot. It's like you can control the elements around you and you can just control everything and then like when you go back into the dark room you can control how light or how dark it is.

And like many other things. It's like you're in charge of everything. So why do you like that creativity of it though? Like being able to play with those things is there something that you're trying to reach? It helps me show what I like about art and what I like outside of art. So it helps me put both worlds together like music and art to show both of them at the same time. So did art class and try to speak in a complete sentence? Like give me context to what you're talking about? Did art class bring anything to you that you didn't have before? Did it give you something new? Well it helped me find who I am because I've started to do stuff that I would have never tried outside of our class. And then like I also became more social trying to get my project to be better and through that I got it to get better through like going out and reaching out with people that I thought would be like look great with this photo.

And I just like kept reaching out with people and made more connections that way. That's really cool isn't it fun because you get to explore like. And you find out so much more of the world art for me. Like what do you mean can you say that again? So you get to find more of the world because you talk to more people, you see more opinions, more views. Yeah totally. And do you try to express that with your camera? Yes definitely. And like one of my new projects I'm trying to incorporate multi cultural races and so and I'm like trying to show with people in the like special clothing, special and like their special cultures into the photo. So what did you learn in art in our class that you didn't know before?

Or what did you learn while taking a photo? So I learned to make it more. Hold on a second. Sorry I'm sorry. Sorry about that. Follow. Is he moving? No no nothing's wrong. Okay I was afraid I could hear you guys. Okay can you repeat the questions for me? Yes so do you like the, I mean why did she take an art class in the first place? Well I had already had a passion for art but I didn't know how to incorporate it. And so I've already had it like a camera and stuff but I wanted to make really cool art and like that's why I take photo and I do not regret that at all because it has been an amazing experience. Nice, nice. So has it opened up, has our class opened you to something you didn't know experience before?

Yeah definitely, definitely. How? So it taught me to like from instead of just making like snapshots to take an actual nice piece of artwork and like trying to form into a really nice piece of work, other than just like a quick snapshot that like takes you like five seconds. What medium do you love the best? Definitely dark room photography. Why? So I'm not like the best with computers and dark room photography is a lot of hands on and then like I said before you can control a lot of stuff in the dark room. You also get to see your hard work because you like have to develop it. You see it going from pretty good to like amazing and you like just like to see like the actual results happening right in front of you. Nice, cool. Okay well thank you so much. Thank you. It's really nice to meet you. Good?

Good. That's good. Oh. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Are those things up there too? Same. Missle? I know. Yes. there's been closer to thank you. moment. today. Braia, Gerald, B-R-E-A, J-A-R-R-E-L-L. And then tell me what you had for breakfast? For breakfast, I had...

I think of banana. Is that good? Yeah. Whenever you're ready to go. Okay. So, in one more, what is hard to do? I think art to me is fun. I just don't think there's any other way to subscribe to it. Yeah. Why do you create? I think I create to preserve the memories that I have of that year. And I really like what I'm doing at the moment. And I think I can reflect my emotions for that time. Because they're my work. That's amazing. What do you love about creating? I think it's the time it takes me. I really like how long I spend on a piece, and then being able to look back and say, wow, I really did spend three months on that piece. And now it's like hanging in a metro. That's amazing. Can you tell me why you chose to do what you did? Like, tell me about the artwork.

Not what it looks like, but, you know, why you chose to do it? Or what it made you feel? I think at the beginning of every piece, it's kind of hard to decide what I'm going to do. But I think, and what Mr. Ritchard's always told us to do is think back at, like, strong memories that make us feel something. So, for a lot of my pieces, I think of, like, a lot of times on vacation, or a lot of times that I'm playing lacrosse, or other things like that. And it's like the small things that I can take out of it. What medium do you love the best and why? I think I love acrylic, and because you can just go over and over and over with it. And even if you make a mistake, there's always room to cover up. What did you... has art class helped you in any way? It's cool, or in any other way? I think so. Freshman, you were the first year that I ever took in art class. We're always, like, drawing before. And I think now it's a way...

to look back at all the hard work that I've done. So, and try anything. So, I would have never done any printmaking if it wasn't... if I had never taken an art class before. So, I think it's really helped me explore my different hobbies within art. So, it's interesting. You know, so, like, is it important for you to be creative? Like, what about the community? I think it's important to be creative to make it feel like my own. Because I think if something is over-done, or something you see, is often you're trying to follow, or take inspiration from too many things that aren't your own. I feel like you can't feel as proud of it later on. So, what is that about finding things that you can connect to? What are some of these things? Some of the things I think it's just... with acrylic, like I was saying, it's my favorite, because I can start over any time that I want. So, if I'm not feeling it halfway through the piece, then I can just almost erase it.

And I think that's part of it. Just not knowing what you're going to do at first, but always being able to... being able to finish it at the end. So, tell me why you have fish swimming to fit air in this city? I think I really wanted to do fish just as an animal. That's been kind of something that I've been doing all year. I actually don't really like fish, but... I like to paint them, and I think that you're just really pretty. And I think I put them... I think this unit was a surrealist unit. So, I think my theme was that... although everyone looks really, really different, and our cities can be big, and we're somehow connected, and it's really us individuals who stand out compared to the drab city, maybe. That's really cool. That's really interesting.

Do you think is there anything in the creative experience that is preparing for the future? I think being able to tell myself that... it's okay that it doesn't look the way that I wanted to start. It prepares me for different kind of failures later on. Not failures, I would say, maybe... things that I can grow from. So, if I didn't see how a fin turned out, then it's going to be okay. I think the world. Okay, thank you so much. You're welcome. Can you say a name and also spell it for me? Okay. Elijah Chavez, E-L-I-J-A-H, C-H-A-B-E-Z. Cool. Okay, pretty. Okay, in one word, what is art to you? In one word, art to me is possibility. Could you say it again without saying in one word? Okay, yeah.

And look at me. Yeah. Okay, so just say like art. So we're just having a conversation. Yeah, so say art to me is... Okay. Okay. All right. Hold on. Okay. All right. Art to me is possibility. Okay. So, why do you create art? I create art in order to express myself and also give statements to certain things in life that I feel need to be spoken about. What do you mean by statements? What do you want to talk about? What do you think that is? I feel art is only most powerful if there is a meaning behind it. And so if there's a certain issue in society that I feel like I need to adjust and I'll do it through art or a certain concept as well. What were you thinking about when you made this? For this piece I was based around the concept of alchemy but I let my research and ideas kind of go down the rabbit hole. And so I came upon like the ideas of individuation and immortality. So I was thinking kind of like that juxtaposition

between human nature and our need to live longer. And so I was thinking with like the symbol of the heart kind of representing life but also gold which was something that alchemists really were trying to aim for. And so I juxtaposed it together to kind of make a statement about what we really value in society, whether it be material wealth or our own humanity. Yeah. Wow. That's awesome. Thank you. Yeah. And you have to work really hard to make a part of gold. Yeah definitely. If it's possible. Yeah. Because that part of it is like the possibility. Like are you exploring like what might be possible in this world and maybe it's beyond what you know already? Yeah definitely. And I think I do a lot of like my own exploration through the materials and seeing with the heart here because this is something that I have never really done before like create something on like a large scale and that they're dimension.

And so just working with different materials and how they kind of complement one another. And I feel like a lot of my work kind of shows like this distress and chaotic nature of life. And I hope that I kind of showed that through my piece here. So did art class help you with anything? In your life or like in school like taking classes or? Yeah definitely are helped me or rather showed to me different ways of making art or also different things that can be art especially my time at the Oxbow School, a semester art program in Napa California which I was able to receive a scholarship to attend. And so I realized more there that art can also be an idea and that's what really has honed in my skills as an artist and as a scholar as well.

Yeah that's amazing. Do you want to be an artist? Yeah definitely. I've applied to different BFA programs. I've been accepted to the University of New Mexico but I'm waiting to hear back from some University of California schools as well as Parsons. And as well as New York University. What do you want to be? Hopefully I can be an artist like my own artist and practice in my own studio and show my working galleries and be able to live off of that. But I also kind of want to explore like the social sciences, more so in politics and psychology and I feel that can also inform my art making as well. Wow, you're a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you. So why did you first take art class? Like what made you want to start making a piece of art? Well it's always started since I was little like from scribbles on a paper

and just kind of copying cartoon characters from like books and TV shows. And a lot of people are like oh you just have like a natural born talent but I could agree to some extent but I like to think that I've always practiced and that's how I've become better and I still continue to practice to this day and I can always become better as an artist. And high school I know that was like my time when I can still make art for free when I have to pay for it in college or so. And it's like kind of like a time when I'm growing older and becoming aware of the world so I think that's why I was more encouraged to explore different possibilities in my art classes. What medium do you love the best? A lot of my work is mixed media but I'd have to say I really enjoy drawing more particularly in ink and color pencil. That's like what I've always kind of started out with and it's always been my kind of go-to thing

but I've been definitely enjoying different mediums as well as such as print making and sculptures. So what do you want to maybe follow him to his other piece? Like another piece of his work that's in here from this? So where is your print? I don't know what print making is. Okay. It's together here. Yeah. Okay. Can you tell me your whole name and also spell it? What did you have for breakfast?

I had biscuits engraving with eggs. It was very good. It was fun to make. Yeah. My mom and I made it before school. I didn't have school today. We have student conferences so I had last few days off which was nice. Yeah. We're going to switch this to an opposite side. And what is that? Art is unexpected. So what do you mean by art is unexpected? Why do you create? It's really exciting because you can do literally anything, especially looking at art history when new styles come out or new people try different things that have never been tried before. It's really unexpected and that's the most exciting part for me is trying different things and different styles and pushing myself.

That's why I create my creative outlet is creating whatever I want. Yeah. It's nice to see what you land on and that surprise that you see. Yeah. Exactly. And sometimes you don't really know how the finished product is going to turn out. You just roll with it. And a lot of times I really like the end. Yeah. That's my favorite part. It's just grabbing a pen and paper or some paints and kind of going with it. What's your favorite medium? I love acrylics because I'm good at them and I know how to work with them. But my favorite is just graphite or pencil and paper and just sketching because I don't think about it too much. It's like, yeah, it's a nice meditation. Mindless and mindful at the same time. Yeah. Why did you take art class?

I met Ms. McCoy and she totally inspired me to take it. I didn't know what to take my freshman year so I just kind of did a random elective and then ran into Ms. McCoy at the end in the hallway and loved her and she was so passionate about it and so I took the class originally because of my art teacher. And then now I want to mine her in art so she's totally inspired me. I really love this object. It's so amazing. So what does it mean to you to have that challenge of creating something like that? I challenge myself in every part of my life and it's... I guess it's another challenge that I'm really passionate about. Just everything I do, I like to challenge myself and it's a whole completely different topic from what I'm used to, very analytical. I like biochemistry and math and so this is out of my comfort zone originally and then I love it so much. So it's a different side of my brain, a different challenge for me.

That's why I like it. Yeah. So could you tell me about the piece that you're standing by? Just don't tell me what it looks like or anything. Just tell me a really short story about it. So I needed to work on proportions because I draw my people very unprofessional so she gave me a little stick figure and I just had a bunch of fun taking pictures of him around the school doing weird things. This one, he's calling out of a gutter because it was just a really fun project. It was a fun like get your mind off of the world and do something silly and creative. So that's what this is. My silly creative. Nice. Do you feel like the creative experience could prepare you for the future? For sure. I think it's done a lot to prepare me for college and for my career after because first of all I know that I have more options with what I can do with my life and it's always going to be like my safe haven, creating art.

If I am stressed out or something else is going on, I have art to comfort me. So I'm very confident now because of it. I'm not as worried. Did you learn something about yourself? Definitely. Every piece I do I think I learn something new about myself. The biggest thing is that I have a lot of patience and so that will go well hopefully in my future. Nice. Thank you so much. Thank you. This is fun. So could you say your name and spell your name? Yeah. Right now? Yeah. Lance. That's a little while. Lance, L-A-N-C-E. And your last name too? Nez, N-E-Z. Okay. And what do you have for breakfast? I skip breakfast today. Yeah. How can you do that? I'm sorry. Sometimes I get too busy, you know. Yeah. So where do you go to school?

Downwarding High School. Downwarding High School? Downwarding High School? Oh, okay, okay. I know. Okay. Cool. Yeah, cool. Ready when you're on it? Okay. It's a pretty early place. Okay. So in one word, what is art to you? Boundless. Could you say art is boundless? Art is boundless. Okay. Why? Why would you use that word? Because, you know, I feel like expressing yourself is a basic human need. And if there are restrictions, if there are boundaries that are put into place, then that's not truly art to me, you know. Like if there's censorship and if there's anything of life, then it's not truly art. It's just something that's been malformed, misshapen, to be something else. So, you know, art is just something that anybody can do, you know. I mean, like it doesn't matter how well you can draw or how straight of a line you can draw, you know. It's just like it's what you feel and what she wants to be on a piece of paper, you know. Or what she wants to be taking a photo, you know.

Like it's very abstract, but you know, I feel like art is boundless, you know. Yeah, totally. That's cool. Why did you take art class in the first place? My entire life, I've kind of just been fascinated by art, you know. I know that sounds a little exaggerated, but yeah, I've been drawing from a very young age, you know. And it's just, when I went to high school, I immediately wanted an art class, because I grew up in New Mexico and their art classes are fine. But I feel like the ones here are so much better, you know. So, just to get the experience and just to have a teacher that I know will probably do me a lot of justice, you know. Yeah. What did you think, like, so, what does it mean to have that opportunity to challenge yourself in that way? Like, what does it mean to you to be able to do it and try and be boundless and explore it? It makes me very happy to do it, you know.

I mean, like, just to give me the option of doing a lot in the way of just, like, expression is just the best thing in the world, you know. I can't really think of a very solid way of answering my question, you know. I feel like there's a lot of ways to, like, you know, attack it, you know. So, what medium do you love the most? Preferably, I like to work with markers and pens, you know. Because, like, they're efficient, they're cheap, you know. They have a lot of variety and color and that kind of thing. Whenever I give the chance, I like to use the good stuff, the professional stuff, you know, like Prismacolor and hopefully Copic, you know. Nice. Yeah. That's cool. That's cool. So, is there anything about the creative experience that you think helps prepare you for the future? It's a pretty good coping mechanism, you know. What is? Just expression, that kind of thing, you know. Like art itself is just something that kind of just, like, helps you kind of. It's not really a crush, it's more of just, like, something that can just, like, help you in tougher situations, you know.

How? And life itself is just full of those, aren't they? So, I feel like they could be a real helper, I guess, if it's like, how does it help you, though? It gets my mind off of things, you know. Like, whenever my mind is just consumed by so much stress or just insecurities of the future, like, you know. Sometimes, I just have to plant myself onto a chair and just draw and just like draw until it stops feeling a little bit more like I'm stuck in a box. It's just six feet underground, you know. Yeah. That's intense, man. Yeah, I know. I love that. I'm very expressive of my words, man. I love that. Do you write to you? I took creative writing in my teacher kind of like me in terms of writing stories and kind of thing. Yeah. Cool. So, so, what are your, so, how many years have you done the Metro? I think, if memory serves me correctly, we did this last year.

But, you know, it wasn't really that prolonged event effect. I think we just like submitted a couple of pieces, but they didn't really get that much recognition, which is fine, you know. Like, it's perfectly understandable. Did you do better this year, do you feel? Oh, yeah. Most definitely, you know. I mean, like, I see this. I didn't see any of this last year, you know. So, I feel like this is a step in the right direction. Is it fun to be a part of? Yeah. Most definitely. How is it fun? Well, not to be condescending or anything, but I am very much surrounded by people that always repeat very similar things. I can't even draw a stick figure is something that I've heard so many times that if I had a nickel for every time a person said it, I would have a lot of money, you know. So, like, being surrounded by people that are up similar talent to me, that's something so cocky, right? I don't have to say it like that, just say, you know, to be surrounded by that talent is inspiring. Yes, such talent around here, you know.

Like, it's so welcoming, you know. It's such a wonderful thing to know that there are other people that are just like me, you know. That are just like so in tune with their creative side, you know. So, yeah. Cool. All right. Well, thank you. We're good. Yeah, you're off the hot seat. All right. But I'd love you to be able to stick around for a little while. I'd love to. Okay, go ahead and just forget about us. Easy to say. Thank you. All right. Thank you.

All right. All right. All right. All right.

All right. Yeah, one of these little more surrealness, so I just added that in here. Yeah. A lot. So the past of time, I can see that. Creativity. Yeah. All right.

All right. Thank you. Okay. So, go ahead and say your name and start. Thank you. Do I say my last name too? Yes. Okay. Okay. My name is Jacqueline Janis. And it's called J-A-Q-U-E-L-I-N-E. And my last name is Y-A-N-E-Z. Y-A-N-E-Z. Y-A-N-E-Z. Y-A-N-E-Z.

Yeah. Cool. Okay. Okay. So. And you could say art is. So what? One word, what is art? Art is to me. Why? Why? Like, why do you do it? Do I do? Uh, it's like, why? Like, to me, art is very fun. Like, it's always been in my childhood. So I always, like, love doing it. It's like, everything could just, like, create something new every day. It's like, it's part of my life, and I love doing it. Yeah. What does, you know, what do you love about creating? What I love about creating is that. You get to do something new every time. Like, you could see other people do stuff and, like, take part of that, and then take other pieces and put it together and find new ways and techniques to do it. So that's what I find about creating new stuff.

That's cool. So why did you take art class? Why took art class? Well, when I took art class to me, it seems, like, really fun to do. I, like, I wanted to know, like, new stuff to do it. Now, I would try, like, my own way sometimes. Like, how to do it? I was, like, I would try figuring it out and watch other people do it at the same time. Well, they teach me and stuff. But you learn techniques and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, so tell me something that you learn. And this piece that you worked on. This piece that I worked on, which, what did I learn? Well, this piece, I was watching a video one time, and I was like, oh, I want to try that out. I want to try doing some leaves and, like, putting kind of dimension onto it. And I was trying to, like, make one pop out more than the other one. And I was like, okay. And I was, like, using darks and mites, trying to figure out how to use it while I was watching the video.

And so, that's what I learned. I was like, were you working on the skin now? Yeah, I was working on the skin. I was, I was, like, looking at a picture, because that was really interesting how the picture looked, because that, in the picture, he had a tattoo on. So, I just, I was trying to focus on how to do the skin. And so, when I was focusing, I was like, okay, I've got to figure out the darks between, like, the back and the lighting. And then, right here, especially right here and right here, trying to figure out how to do the back right here and, like, make some, like, lighter and some darker. And yeah, trying to make your looks. And I have to, like, use different types of shades. So, I have to, like, change it every time. And sometimes, I'd be like, oh, wait, this is the wrong one. And I'd be like, okay, I got to fix it. So, I just put, like, more white into it. And we're like, okay, there, fix. Like, don't touch it. And I just try fixing it like that. And so, basically, what I would do.

So, what does it mean to you to be able to explore art? To be able to explore the challenge is a challenging thing. Yeah, sometimes I'm just like, oh, how do they do that? I'm like, okay, so they do this and then that. And I'll be like, wait, so it's, like, really challenging. But I find it fun. It's like, you're discovering something new every day, you know? It's like, whoa, how did they do that? I want to try it out and see if I could do it. And I just, I find it really fun to see other people do that too. Like, finding different styles of people's art. That's what I find really fun. So, do you get inspired? Yeah. Like, it's like, oh, I want to start drawing now. But I don't have nothing right now. Like, when I get home, I'll do it. So, is the creative experience prepared for you for the future? Yeah, I feel like it does.

Can I tell you how? Like, I feel like it shows you a way of life. Like, a new way to talk to people or see life in a different way. And that's how I see it. So, yeah. Thank you. Thank you.