Meet Raven
Raven
Raven, a 15-year-old homeschooled through Compass Charter School, has been a member of YAC for two years, since she started high school. Raven is the first ever TAGster (Teaching Across Generations – YAC’s Saturday program for younger kids) turned YACster. She finds YAC to be “wondrous, animated and dynamic” – a real oasis for a “spiritual, humble and attentive” girl like herself.
Raven’s first memory of being an artist was in third grade, when she drew on her floor. The image of her and two horses watching TV still remains. She used to work primarily in colored pencil but recently has been enjoying acrylic paint. She also likes ceramics, airbrush, tattooing, collage, oils, as well as digital art – “pretty much everything.” Raven especially loves Mondays at YAC when Board Member/Mentor Colleen Frye volunteers to teach sewing and fabric art. With Colleen, Raven has been working on an art quilt. Raven was most proud of her art when she sold her first piece at her first art show, incidentally also her first gouache piece!
Her work, described as “inventive, vibrant and eye catching” often focuses on animals because she believes animals to be very spiritual and also feels they are underrepresented in art. For Raven, animals feel very freeing to draw. In addition to art, she loves writing (especially poetry), is interested in dentistry and teeth, enjoys hiking, taking pictures (especially pictures of YAC Program Director/Mentor Meg Biddle, the subject of a portrait book Raven is creating entitled “365 Days of Meg”), walking on the beach, and baking (especially brownies). Raven is also passionate about teaching children art. In fact, she now volunteers at the TAG program and with YAC as they work at The Village Project in Seaside.
Serving the needs of children was instilled in Raven from an early age. Raven lives with her father, her two brothers, and her amazingly patient grandmother who’s adopted 21 children (all of whom have a disability), and fostered 115 children - most of whom have disabilities. Her father and grandfather, who are both amazing artists, also bring great inspiration to her.
Raven is also inspired by Lake Tahoe, Montana (although she’s not yet been there), grizzly bears, pine trees, YAC Director/Mentor Marcia Perry’s vivid and colorful artwork, mountains, cats, nature, friends, other artists, any version of spirituality, bubbles (she “just loves bubbles”), the smell of old libraries, sunsets, and butterflies.
Coming to YAC continually inspires Raven, as all the approaches and perspectives present allow Raven to see the world differently. Being a YACster has taught Raven to be more confident and also to really express herself through her artwork. Perhaps this is why Raven dreams of someday becoming an art teacher or YAC mentor. That, or she dreams of working as an artist, and/or a dental sculptor. She hopes that the work she creates will bring the viewer joy and also hopes that her work will inspire the viewer to go create their own art. Ideally, she will do all this and own a butterfly sanctuary.
Raven would like to learn metalworking, woodcarving, glass blowing, and wood burning – “all of the scary mediums” - and even though she has already done her first tattoo (on her father’s chest), she would love to do more.
Raven’s favorite quote is a saying that she often hears from her father, “I believe in everything and I believe in nothing because everything is nothing and nothing is forever.”
See more of Raven’s work on Instagram @ravenn.c
