By Natalia Cisneros
Staff Writer
As we get closer to the end of 2020, the spirit of young artists will not falter. With advanced technology and a multitude of tools, artists have more options than ever to be great. This decade will be shaped by artists with different backgrounds and will continue to influence others into turning thinking into doing. There are a countless number of artists at MAST Academy, including senior Krysthel Cisneros.
This past summer, senior Colleen Padron’s birthday was underway. Lillian Padron, Colleen’s mother, had seen some of Cisneros’s past works and decided to reach out to work alongside Cisneros to work on a commission piece for Padron’s birthday. This piece was not only Cisneros’s first commission but the biggest and most complex body of work that she completed, only within the span of two months. Cisneros describes this painting as “[One that] broke a barrier or something I was scared of that pushed me more towards the side of me being an artist, and convinced me to explore with different things that I’m not comfortable with.”
Cisneros describes drawing as an “outlet of expression,” and sees art as something comforting that keeps her occupied. Every artist has their own way as to how they do what they do, or what makes them comfortable enough to do what they do correctly. Similar to how Cisneros does her schoolwork, in order to focus on what she is doing and maintain a state of tranquility, she must have her playlist or an old movie playing in the background.
Cisneros has taken time to reflect on whether she wants to make art something that she can pursue in a career in, or continue pursuing it as just a hobby. As of right now, she wants to leave art as an element in her life and experiment with art therapy, but does not want to be known as “just another artist.”
“Every artist was first an amateur,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said. Everyone starts somewhere, every individual has the potential to be great and with the right mindset, they can change the world for the greater. Teenagers have the power to make a difference and inspire others. The key to building the perfect future for the arts lies in making young artists a priority and that means taking them seriously. Artists like Cisneros have the potential to influence others for the better.
