I was born on August 23rd, 1991 in Pasadena, California. At the age of three years old, my parents, sister and I moved to Maui, Hawaii, after the Northridge earthquake and the LA riots.
Art began as an enjoyable hobby for me. I remember having quick sketch battles with some other kids in Elementary and Middle school. At that time, sports (basketball / soccer) were huge inspirations for my future, though once I made it to my Junior year of high school, I realized that becoming an artist would be the purest direction to lead my life.
After my 2009 graduation from King Kekaulike high school on Maui, I decided to cruise up to Southern California to live with my older half-brother and to finally venture towards my life as an adult. I entered Orange Coast College with the thought of just becoming a marketing major that would find ways to sell the art that I was creating at the time. Either way, the first class that I attended at that college was Screen Printing. That class completely pushed me into the zone of progressing as a true artist. The next semester, without telling anyone in my family, I chose to attend nothing but art classes. When my father found out, he wasn’t happy but told me exactly what I needed to hear: “You can choose whichever major you’d like to but you need to get your associates degree requirements out of the way.” By June 2012, I received my Associates degree from Orange Coast College and transferred to Cal Poly Pomona.
As a fine arts transfer student, I was told that I would be part of the last transfer group that Cal Poly Pomona would be accepting for the fine arts department. Yes, we were the finale. This fact almost left me feeling lost and that I might be wasting my time.. Positively though, I made sure to truly delve deep into the pool of creative energy and was truly inspired by my group of fine arts teachers. I now consider four of my teachers as my guides and inspiring muses to learn from and to follow.
Before my 2015 graduation, I ended up having an intense seizure at work which led me to the hospital. I had an MRI which found some sort of golf-ball-sized mass on my temporal lobe- The lobe of the cerebral hemisphere located down on the side, just forward of the occipital lobe (Contains the auditory cortex which is responsible for hearing. It is also the site of the seizure activity characteristic of temporal-lobe epilepsy). After three MRIs, the doctors still could not understand if the mass was a tumor or something completely harmless. Either way, after the surgery it was found that the mass was not a tumor but it is still unknown how the mass was born.. My graduation was one month after my surgery. Many trials and errors have occurred in my life since that day. My life’s entire experience has led my efforts and determination into truly becoming my dream species: an artist.
Currently, I am teaching photography/drawing & painting at Maui high School. Now, it's pretty obvious from the previous paragraphs that I could have become a drawing & painting teacher, but photography? That was definitely not even on the "back of my mind" list. Either way, when the position opened up during the post-covid 2021-2022 school year, I decided to take the chance. It was one of the greatest decisions I've made thus far. This path has led me to truly understand the necessary basics of the digital camera and photoshop. I have also gained a greater understanding of the elements/principles of art, composition, and a deeper sense of creativity which has allowed my art to bloom much further than I've initially expected.
I am grateful for this path I've been given and excited to see where it will take me next.