“Home Sweet, Home”
by Olivia Thomas

My art piece titled “Home Sweet, Home”, represents the life and culture I experience here in Washington state. The prompt for the submission was “Culture in America”, but since I’ve lived in this state all my life and it’s a big part of my experience, I thought it more fitting to emphasize Washington through my art and the title of this piece.

The three main themes I chose to represent were a love for this region and nature as a whole, a love for my family, and a love for art. Because I live pretty far from downtown Camas, I’m always surrounded by trees and fresh air at home. I always get great views of the forest and Mt. Hood on my way to and from school. Despite that, I chose to draw Mt. Saint Helens instead of Mt. Hood because I’ve made more memories with my family up in that area, like the Ape Caves and the Lava Canyon. Trips like those are why I cherish my family so much. Because my parents are always working to provide for my little brother and I, we don’t spend a lot of quality time together. This is why I drew a little family of birds in my art piece, it’s representative of how my family works for us.

The last most important theme I expressed was art itself, most obviously seen in the billboard I drew. Graffiti is something I picked up recently, and it’s something my father has nurtured along with my other art styles. And like my father, living in Camas has also encouraged my creative growth through programs like this one and wonderful staff and peers in the school district. Art is a skill I wish to keep for the rest of my life and through sharing it, I hope to catch the eyes of those who can appreciate it. So in the end, the reason I chose to pick up a colored pencil and break out my paint pens to create this was so I could get my work out there and make some people smile.