My senior year of high school I decided to take an Advanced Placement Studio art class that pushed my artistic ability. Senior year was a very significant milestone in my life because it was the year I began to find my true artistic identity as well as my identity off of paper. I was more aware and involved in the world of feminism and other equality movements like Black Lives Matter. I began to express my passion for these movements through my artwork.

This was my first art piece that I did in AP Studio Art it was an identity project. The woman’s hair is shown as leaves and flowers to represent natural hair flourishing.
I chose to make her skin a darker chocolate color along with exaggerated lips and nose because those are the characteristics that are usually frowned down upon because of European beauty standards. The The turtle neck is a representation of how white America tries to constrict these beautiful natural features.

My concentration for the AP portfolio was focused on women of color. I tried to incorporate our hardships as well as our triumphs. This assortment displays that in society black women are often silenced about our experiences. How we are sexualized, fetishized and ignored. If we speak out about these issues we are painted as the angry black woman. Despite the negatives the same art pieces display how beautiful we are regardless of how society wants us to act or conform.