SOFIA LOPEZ, a junior in Academic Choice (AC), combines her creativity with her cultural identity to create alluring and thought-provoking paintings. Growing up, Lopez was always drawn to art, but it was not until her first middle school art class with Mr. Pablo when she truly fell in love with it.
“[Mr. Pablo] inspired me by showing me how art creates community, which made me want to create art to make people feel inspired, as if they can relate or learn from it,” Lopez explained.
Since that first glimmer of inspiration in middle school, Lopez has dedicated herself to expressing her story through her craft.
“I put lots of different parts of my culture in my art, so in some pieces I would put an Aztec sun, symbols of family, symbols of love, symbols of me,” she said. In this way, Lopez is creating her own unique style of art while also representing all aspects of what makes her whole.
Lopez not only uses her art to represent her heritage; she also as a mode of self-expression. In middle school, Lopez created pieces to communicate her mental health struggles. In a more recent piece, Lopez used her art to come out to her loved ones about her sexuality. She hopes that this art piece will provide inspiration for anyone who happens to view it.
In general, Lopez wants her work to not only represent her culture and identity but to stimulate, motivate, and encourage dialogue and introspection.