Greetings! My name is Jasmin Hernandez. I am currently a senior at North Monterey County High School. From a young age, I have always been surrounded by creative and inspiring individuals, one of them being my older sister. She is someone I have always looked up to and she constantly supports me through my art journey. My sister is herself an artist. I find the most comfort and relief in her critiques. She is someone I truly trust. Going into my junior year, I was so happy to hear that my counselor had read my thousands of emails and had enrolled me in my first ceramics class. This opportunity led me to discover my love for creating pieces with my hands. Being in a classroom that allows me to express myself freely and learn more about myself excites me. Now in my second year of ceramics, I realize how passion and storytelling can be incorporated into art pieces.

My sculpture “Blooming with Life” reflects a story about my personal perspective on the beauty of entering adulthood/womanhood. I began to realize my high school journey was soon coming to an end. I would be transitioning into college. I was inspired to create a sculpture that represents the importance of growth. In the background of my art piece sits a flower vase that’s mostly white. The white color of the vase represents purity of the soul. I truly believe that when born, everyone starts as a blank canvas. The challenges we face are what shapes and builds us into who we are today. Many fear life’s challenges yet I believe it’s important to embrace them. Embracing hardship allows us to accomplish our goals and grow. Therefore, I incorporated plants and flowers that indicate growth. The vines and flowers blooming within the vase visually represent how beautiful it is to overcome obstacles and flourish from them. The fully bloomed flower floating over the water towards the front of my art piece also correlates to the idea of growth. The flower girl sitting above the open bloom incorporates the perspective of womanhood. Showing that her mind is now fully bloomed, it illustrates her strong sense of identity and confidence thus, showing the significance of womanhood.

In the process of creating my sculpture, I learned that patience was my friend. To create the vase, I attached two slabs of clay together forming them into the vase. Once smoothed, I carved a hole into the center, which allows the viewer to see right through the vase. After accomplishing that, I moved on to decorating. The vines, texture, and small flowers were piped on using a cake decorating tool filled with thickened slip. The larger flowers were a bit more time-consuming, as each petal was handcrafted. My favorite part of creating my piece was adding color! I used under-glazes that complemented each other, therefore green for the vines and pink for the flowers. Through my journey of creating my sculpture, I found myself at times stuck or challenged. However, because of this art piece, I feel as if I have grown as a ceramicist. I am so happy to share it with others.