By Clara Chalmers
Born to computer scientists, raised by parents who hadn’t an artistic bone in their body, Selina’s first memory of this alien term, art, illustrates her staunch grandmother as she attempts to drag her equally obstinate (and sobbing) granddaughter off to a painting class. This context is not exactly a favorable begging for an aspiring artist, but fortunately, like most first impressions, was wholly inaccurate. Selina Zhou does not remember her level of enjoyment during this trepid watercolor tutorial, nor does she claim to have experienced any “epiphanies” during her participation. When justifying why she invested eight years in such a perfunctory venture, Selina simply laughs and claims the classes to be “fun.”
Born to computer scientists, raised by parents who hadn’t an artistic bone in their body, Selina’s first memory of this alien term, art, illustrates her staunch grandmother as she attempts to drag her equally obstinate (and sobbing) granddaughter off to a painting class. This context is not exactly a favorable begging for an aspiring artist, but fortunately, like most first impressions, was wholly inaccurate. Selina Zhou does not remember her level of enjoyment during this trepid watercolor tutorial, nor does she claim to have experienced any “epiphanies” during her participation. When justifying why she invested eight years in such a perfunctory venture, Selina simply laughs and claims the classes to be “fun.”
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Nevertheless, the ungainly messed produced, inevitably, by wet paint eventually impeded her progress in watercolors; thus, in grade six, she moved on to more tidy methods of creativity, digital art. This rather arbitrary choice was perhaps undertaken to appease her parents, who, despite their strictly tech disciplinary, wished for their daughter to pursue art, hence the preliminary painting tutorials. Selina has since become a prominent member in this particular field; renowned amongst the net for her fan fiction pieces, and glorified by her friends, of whom are the happy recipients of several customized digital creations. In spite of her evident talent, Selina herself is decidedly modest, understating her brilliance and disclaiming any outstanding dedication to art; “I feel I am more into science,” asserts Selina as she tallies an extensive list of additional extracurricular activities, such as Arts Mag. Secluding her from other prestigious artists is an alleged minimal amount of practice, or rather, no specific intervals allocated for art. This, rather than discrediting her, gives her a unique, and individual prominence. In absence of that strain put on devoted artists as their attempt to quench the demands of society, Selina is free to “follow her heart,” so to speak.
As she flips through her portfolio, a true compassion for art radiates through her reserve as she quietly describes each piece. All, as was duly noted, were mere whims, undertaken by haphazard bursts of inspiration; a character in book, a friend, a teashop in China, or a depiction of the Chinese moon festival. Each composition represents, through stunning creativity, everyday life, undiluted by the pressure to be the best, or obey norms. Her mantra reflects this observation, with an additional footnote deterring one from practising if they do not wish, and encouraging others to develop their own unique style. Thus, despite a purported indifference to art as a profession, “I’m not seriously committed,” this craft will forever be a part of her identity as both a passion and useful skill she wishes to maintain for future reference. For example, Selina aspires to a career in engineering, which, as so she states, will entail art. Likewise, she wishes to travel around the world, and, using her extraordinary talent, depict her experiences. Selina’s ambitions, blatant ability, and compassion for art exhibit a girl who, despite her inauspicious beginnings, emerged as a true, and passionate artist.
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