Hopes - Winners 2013-14

“I use natural materials and organic forms in conjunction with unnatural objects to try to find a balance between the two. I become familiar with the materials I choose through the process of obsessively collecting, carefully organizing and then assembling them in a freeform manner. I transform these elements into life-size ‘shells’ that can be worn or that can stand alone as sculptures representing a balance between the natural and the manufactured. I will never stop seeing the potential in my environment and I will continue to transform the world around me.”

“I love design, its process and its aesthetic. I love its purpose to us as a civilization: materializing emotions and ideas. I love its applicability in business, from packaging and product design, to advertising and marketing campaigns. I want to create an image that sells to an audience, to design a consistent look across web, video and print that screams a clear message. I want to use my artistic skills to be heard.”

“Since I was a child I was really inclined to creative and artistic activities that would offer me a way to express myself. However, being born and raised in Venezuela, I did not really have any access to many art classes, as I would have liked to because they are not part of the curriculum over there. I cannot even describe the satisfaction and pleasure I find when creating art, the act of picking up the brush and seeing brushstrokes get transformed into something else makes me feel complete.”

“From a young age, I had the urge to create things and I was lucky to have parents that encouraged my imaginative nature. I would draw whatever I could find at home, from the covers to my Disney movies to the plants out in the garden. What I love about being an artist is that there is always room for growth and I am still finding ways of exploring new artistic outlets. My hope is to continue doing work in the digital world while also finding new ways of improving my drawing skills.”