January 2023 Winners

“This digital art I made is called destruction because we are not only ruining the earth but we’re ruining everything on it, even us. My artwork shows the injustice in the world nowadays. One of the major injustices is teenage violence and police brutality. Many people overlook that type of stuff in this world. I hope you enjoy my artwork and I hope it makes an impact and makes people start noticing the injustices in this world.”

“This is a digital drawing of the recently deceased mountain lion P-22. P-22 – who was euthanized on December 17, 2022, after being hit by a car – has played an important role in raising awareness on animal rights issues across Southern California. P-22 was born in the Santa Monica mountains in 2010, but crossed two highways to move to Griffith Park in Los Angeles, where he was forced to survive within an 8 square mile range (compared to the 150 required by other male cats) and would never find a mate. His situation quickly grew famous, and people grew more aware of how humans had damaged Southern California’s ecosystems. As a result of P-22’s life stuck in Griffith Park, people are taking serious measures to make sure no mountain lion will ever be forced into a situation as forlorn as his. A bridge is being built between two parts of the Santa Monica Mountain range to help expand mountain lion territories and genetic diversity, which have decreased because human development has separated parts of the mountains. P-22’s time in Griffith Park has helped to raise awareness on California’s environmental problems and bring justice to animals across Southern California, and I hope this piece can show that and help us in remembering his life.”

“Something that always gives me hope for the future is my cat, Mickey. He was rescued off the streets of Malibu, California and then brought to a shelter East of Los Angeles. He was part of a “trap, neuter, release” program and half of his left ear had been clipped as proof. Suffice to say he had a hard time trusting people and to make things worse, he was partnered with a cranky cat in a cage at the shelter, so he never really had a safe space of his own. On December 27, 2021, he was adopted by a woman who had him for less than 24 hours before returning him, stating that he went crazy at her house and then hid. All cat experts and experienced owners can tell you that cats need to be introduced to new environments bit by bit, and most cats, particularly former street cats, take anywhere from hours to a year to stop hiding. Mickey was given a free run of his new home in the first hour. Fast forward, and my mom and I meet him at the shelter during a volunteer shift a day later. We came back two more times and on the second visit, we adopted him, and the rest is history. His new adoption anniversary is December 30th. Now named after the comic book character, Opus the penguin, he is loving life, becoming more confident around people, and bonding with his new big sister. Opus went through so much hardship, separated from his mother months before most kittens, with a hectic adoption story, and a dangerous life on the streets. But today, he has a loving home, and is bouncing back with a little TLC and catnip. If he can stay resilient and end up happier than ever before, then so can I, and so can anyone.”

“I had great difficulty thinking about what I hope for my future, what I really want to work towards. I thought over the course of a couple weeks to no avail. I began to reflect, to look back on my childhood and what made me special to myself, to see how much I’ve grown from things that seemed so much bigger when I was younger. What was interesting was how many things never changed in me, and once I realized that, I found my inspiration for this poem. This poem is about my hope for the new year being that I want to be who I’ve always been but with much more growth and maturity. It’s comforting to know that the special things about you as a kid never really leave you.”

“This project includes mixed media of photography of me in my catching gear, watercolor paints, and markers. I have played baseball since I was three years old. In 2019 my little league major baseball season was cut short, and I missed playing baseball and playing with my friends. When baseball started up again, I was not as good, and I was discouraged playing catcher. All I could do was hope for the new season and that I would improve. I found words that helped motivate me to keep trying and not give up hope of becoming better. This project includes encouraging words that have inspired me to stay motivated in baseball and school and continue trying harder.”

“We hand sculpted the clay into society’s perfect vision of a man and a woman. We struggle and fight to figure out our place in the world, but we shouldn’t shape ourselves based on the fear and expectation of what other’s want us to be.”

“I chose to do this piece because I want people to find their happiness anywhere and for people to not be lonely. Also for people to find hope for what they are doing because some people might think it’s not fun but other people might think it is.”

“In my painting, I want to express my hopes of finding myself this year. Looking back on 2022, I went through a lot of rough patches. During those hard times, I felt like I lost myself in multiple instances. Even though on the outside I looked fine, on the inside I felt empty almost like a void, never-ending sadness. So, with that thought in mind, I created this painting. I represented the feelings I felt during my rough patches. In the back, you will see bright colors. Those colors represent my favorite parts of myself. Even though I felt like a blue never-ending void, the best parts of me were still there in the background, waiting to be shown again.”

“My film submission is titled “Belonging: My Hope for 2023.” As a teenager with muscular dystrophy, I know the isolation kids and teens can feel when they suffer from a disability. This is especially true in high school, when teenagers create new interests and friendships. In the film, I use photographs from my life to show that the disabled can be included as important members of their communities, giving hope to young people with disabilities. I end my film with a quote from Fred Rogers, one of my heroes, on the need for us to share responsibility for others. The narration was done using a voice created by my “eye gaze” computer.”

“My final semester of high school is underway, and graduation rapidly approaches. 2023 is the year I finally leave home and explore the world, through my higher education. 2022 was largely a year of comforts for me; still in the same town, with the same people, and the same routines that I have been living for the past several years. Leaving will bring discomfort, but I know that doing so will allow me to grow into my best self. Many of my peers feel the same way, especially those moving even further away. One of my best friends is planning on moving across the country for college, and despite the sorrow I feel in knowing we will be separated soon, I know that we are all moving on to bigger and better things. This sentiment of shedding old skin is portrayed in my painting through the fading of a high school varsity jacket. In the background, there is also symbolism. To the right, there is scenery from my hometown. To the left, which I am facing in this self-portrait, is the town of my dream college. I look forward to the new experiences that 2023 brings, and the optimistic glow of the painting reflects this. This year, my hope for myself and everyone around me is for us to grow and undergo our own personal metamorphosis into a better version of ourselves.”

“I am currently incarcerated for 6-9 month, detached and lost with no family. I am currently in the system and stumbling from failure to failure. In my journey I am overcoming my obstacle and trying to become a stronger person with purpose. Because of this I my hopes for 2023 is to be released from camp and to get off probation. I want to complete school and I look forward to my bright and beautiful future.”

“My piece is meant for the monthly prompt category, which could have been interpreted in different ways. The route I went with has changed because for the new year, I wanted to be a newer, better version of myself. As someone who feels like they don’t fit the binary, I’ve struggled with my gender identity a lot. It’s hard to feel right in my own skin and I’ve felt miserable sometimes due to this feeling of being out of place in the world. My piece is meant to be a symbolic version of this change of identity, which has the person in the drawing cutting their hair. The cutting of the hair represents them taking a step towards the change they want—the step I want to take to reaffirm my identity. This piece shows that I want to make the metaphoric move in feeling like my true self in the new year.”

“In this entry, I opened a veil that concealed the events that drowned humanity in despair. I wanted to show the cuts we were given as well as the band-aids we put on. In this entry, I reviewed the events of 2020 and how they impacted children like me. While 2020 was a rough year, it was also one where I bonded with people who felt the same kind of pain as me. I never talked about how I felt but working on this project has let me write out how I viewed these events and how I felt about it.”

“For my entry, I wanted to show that I am looking forward to the new memories I will make in 2023. I wanted to have photos represent the memories because I feel like photos are connected to memories – people take photos to remember certain events in their lives. Each photo shows my overall feelings about each year so I made the photo for 2023 really bright because I’m hoping that it will be better than previous years. During the pandemic I couldn’t make the same type of memories that I had in the years before. I was stuck at home and couldn’t really hang out with anyone except for my immediate family and even then, we couldn’t do the same things we used to. I’m really hoping for this year to be good, especially because I will be graduating this year.”

“My submission represents my hopes for 2023. I’m graduating high school during the 2023 year, so I wanted to emphasize this as the focus point since it will be the biggest accomplishment that I will soon experience. Growing up and graduating high school can carry a lot of fear and anxiety for me, so I decided that I should reverse these feelings and instead be excited and hopeful towards the bright future. In my painting I decided to draw myself in my future graduation gown holding a diploma with a green ribbon. I decided that the ribbon should be green because it represents mental health awareness. I’ve struggled with poor mental health for a large part of my life so one of my other hopes for 2023 would be taking more care of myself and mental health. By becoming more aware of my own needs, I’m hoping for my mental health to gradually become better this year. I surrounded myself in my painting with plants to show my hopes for growth. I will be going through a lot of changes, and I especially hope that I grow due to these changes. Specifically, the flowers beneath me are daffodils which symbolize new beginnings. The 2023 year for me will be filled with new beginnings and I’m hopeful that it will bring me a new outlook on life, success with college, and a healthy mind. I’m very hopeful for this upcoming year, and I wanted to show this as best as I could through my piece.”

“For 2023 I wish that stereotypes stop defining who we are as a person, and we are defined by our own selves no matter what ethnicity. I wanted to include some of the most common stereotypes that have been used in the past couple years and put them up on a cork board because I know that cork boards/any type of board are some of the most common ways to spread helpful/encouraging words. An example could be billboards which are set up on streets giving out helpful information to people as they drive by, or even motivational writings.”

“This illustration highlights my most basic hopes for 2023 by using four mini drawings compiled into one larger drawing. The first section represents my hope to stay healthy throughout 2023, as I like to play beach volleyball and run on the beach. The second is about keeping my grades up and meeting my goal to get the same grades as previous years. The third is to be able to connect and grow closer with my friends. The last section is to be more spiritually active and to read the bible. I currently don’t, but the pastors keep emphasizing the importance of reading the Bible, so I hope to try it soon. I embedded the number “2023” in the artwork to be more specific and convey meaning more obviously.”

“Now that 2023 has officially started, it gives us yet another chance to start over, and what we can do in order to better ourselves for the new year. As they say, “new year, new me”, it is time to prove it, and the time starts now. I wanted to share this animation to show that with another chance and a good mindset, anything can be achieved. Better to do it now than later before time catches up. I wish all a happy new year!”

“In this film, I talk about my three goals for the new year.”

“Our entry is about interviewing students at Landmark Middle School from six through eighth grade. We asked them about their hopes for this school year and they gave a short, descriptive response.”

“In my film, I talk about my hopes and goals for 2023. I include my own personal goals, my hopes for my loved ones, and my hopes for my community.”

“My video is about music and the way that music can bring hope to others. The meaning of music for me is it can make you express what you want to feel. The fact that music can just make you fall into it. Also, music can help just by listening to it you can just get into it without thinking you are. You can overanalyze every word you hear in music. If you feel down you can just drown every single one of your feelings in lyrics. If you need someone to comfort you can use music to help with your comfort you. The meaning is it can help with your feeling and it can change your mood however you want to take it. Music can be a way to talk without using your own words.”

“My piece is about my goals for 2023.”