My name is Nori I am currently a senior studying Asian Studies with a Studio Art minor. Art has always been a part of my life. I began my simple art practices at a young age through small projects and from kindergarten to college art has been incorporated into my life. I have found that art is a way to express yourself in ways that writing or other forms of self expression do not cover. The creative outlet of art allows the artist to explore new creative ideas that speak to them personally and often bring attention to a certain subject or issue. Recently I have been working on different portraits digitally to speak about race issues. I did a collection of pieces highlighting stereotypes and slurs that people of color face. I also had a concentration of pieces about the rise of Asian hate in America. These issues on the basis of race need to be talked about and I decided to draw attention to it through my artwork. I attended a Waldorf school from k-8 which is a type of education that heavily emphasizes the importance of art and creativity by using your hands to learn. I then continued my art practice through high school with AP studio art where I learned more about the foundations of art marking. I continued to where I am now with an art minor at CU. I previously took a drawing class which introduced the basics of drawing the importance of the elements and principles of design. I have now chosen to take digital art because I have only dipped my toe into digital art making and I hope to learn more. Our world is moving towards everything becoming digital and I think digital art is important to learn and convey ideas through this format of artwork. Digital art gives the artist a chance to explore beyond the boundaries of traditional mediums in art to create something new and fresh.