"Her" by Aaliyah is a 17"x21" piece created at a Hope Creates "Make Your MARC" event.

Artist Statement:
"Every piece of art that I make is like a piece of myself. It shows where I am in life. It communicates that I am here. I sign my work “Ali” – it’s the name I want to be known as an artist. It’s my dad’s last name and my last name. It’s something I can continue to share with him even though he passed a few years ago.

Art is a way to express myself. All of my art is extremely different. Some of it is light and feminine, but some is really dark and depressing. That’s what my poetry is like too. People are always surprised when they read it. They say, “it’s depressing, but you’re not a depressed person.” I’m like, yeah, why do you think I paint?

My guitar shows a more girly, juvenile side of me. People are multifaceted and it’s important to have different ways to show that. Music is just as much a form of self-expression for me. I play piano and often use that as an escape. Learning the strings of the guitar has made me more patient with myself. When things are difficult I tend to get task paralysis. In the Make Your M.A.R.C. program, I’ve been able to follow through and I’ve realized it’s not that hard.

When I do art I get excited that I get to learn more about myself. I believe the subconscious mind can reveal a lot about yourself that you didn’t know. Using creative outlets helps bring that to light. Art is personal. It’s important to find your art – whatever helps you express yourself.

Having to commit to something has helped me, and having other people around who want to help me has been good. It has helped me feel like I can succeed in school and it’s given me better self-confidence. The Make Your M.A.R.C. program was an act of self-love on my own behalf. I forced myself to come even when I had to get up early because I knew it would be good for me. I’m glad I was able to continue with the program even though I missed a few sessions. Coming here has helped me set intentions for a situation. When I get here I set my intentions to be calm and open-minded."