Junior Alondra Pedroza has received an Honorable Mention from Scholastic Art Awards for her charcoal drawing piece, Cross in the Woods. It will be featured as the cover of Notre Dame Preparatory’s 2023-2024 Student Planner.
What types of art inspire you the most?
As of right now, I am interested in photography, drawing, nature, and forensics.
When did you realize you had a passion for art? What mediums are your favorite and why?
I realized that I had a passion for art when I started high school. Before then, I would only practice art when I was bored, but now it’s an active part of my life. Notre Dame’s art program is something that I joined to only to fulfill credits, but it has helped me develop a much more refined skill and I’ve become very passionate about it thanks to the art teachers.
I’d have to say that my favorite medium is charcoal and oil pastels, mostly because they’re quite easy to get accustomed to. I’m not exactly a master at painting, but I’m improving as each day goes by.
What inspired this piece?
What inspired this piece was “divine intervention,” one could say. I didn’t know what I was going to draw until I went through my photos on a day that we were already supposed to have a picture chosen. I felt like this specific image would be nice to draw, as the perspective is very interesting and would be both simplistic yet detailed at the same time. It turned out to be very fun to draw though it was also sometimes stressful.
Who are your favorite artists? If you could meet any artist, who would it be (past or present) and why?
My favorite artists are Claude Monet and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Their art styles are extremely different from each other, but I think that that’s what gives art its uniqueness and beauty. If I could meet any artist, though, I think it would have to be Miquel Barceló, as I’m a big fan of his mixed-media paintings.
Do you aspire to have a career in art? If so, what career? If not, what is it that you want to do?
Something I make a point of whenever someone asks me what I want to be when I grow up is that I make sure to tell them that I don’t know. I’ve wanted to be so many things throughout my life, from a chemical engineer, to a veterinarian, to a fashion designer. I’ve definitely considered taking my art skills and turning them into a career, but if that doesn’t turn out to be the case, I’ll totally turn it into a hobby well into the rest of my life. As of right now, it’s definitely a top choice. My only goal is to end up in a career where I bring positive change to others.