Author Class Level
Senior
Author Bio
I am a student who majored in Public Health and minored in Studio Art, graduating May of 2025. I like to paint, draw, animate, and create stories that are based off personal experiences tied into literature. I aim to pursue a career in video game design and development as I work to start up a studio and team of my own one day.
First Page
41
Last Page
42
Abstract
Artist Statement
"'Behind The Painting,' is a representative piece on how messy how felt when it came to my junior year of my college year. I always had this idea that once college ended, it was only a straight-forward path from here, or so I grew up to believe if I continued to follow down this path my parents have paved for me. You would think being in this position of stability, it would be easy for anyone to just listen and do everything blindly as you are guided towards success, but it turned out to be the most hurtful thing I have done to myself and I only started to take notice of that once I started to question, 'Is this what I want?' Junior year was my year of questioning, as I noticed I didn’t know who I really was under my parent’s guidance, it wasn’t unusual for me to feel all over the place. This piece was made for myself, as I wanted to remember how vulnerable I was during my semester, as a reminder on how far I have come in becoming someone who has decided to take the risk and choose her own future, despite how scary it has been. It’s because of my messy third year in college that I was able to become who I am today, someone who can take off the face paint and being proud with what she makes rather than to be tormented by this phase of anger that I seemed to always have, weighing heavy down on my shoulders. I feel free now, as I can stand up tall and smile, and say who I am today. I now know who that person is behind the painting, and it was me, the me who needed to go through the pain of questioning to be the me I am today. This is a 'thank you' piece to her."
Recommended Citation
Calderon, Aries
(2025)
"Behind the Painting,"
Digressions: Literary & Art Journal: Vol. 22, Article 41.
Available at:
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/digressions/vol22/iss1/41
