San Ysidro High School senior Estefania Padilla grew up in Tijuana. She remembers walking through town with her grandfather and visiting their favorite stores.
She’s recreated that scene in a colored pencil drawing.
“We have the Virgen de Guadalupe right here in the backdrop,” she said, pointing to the drawing. “We have the papelería, which I would always visit for my art projects. We have papel picado, which would always be put up for festivals.”
At the center of the drawing is Padilla. She’s riding a giant guinea pig. It’s a reference to a childhood pet that inspired her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.
Padilla is one of the student artists featured in “Roots and Blossoms,” an exhibit at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. The pieces showcase San Ysidro High School students’ heritage and dreams for the future.
For 11th grader Amy Vargas, it was an opportunity to try out new techniques. She usually paints small landscapes. Her piece shows cherry blossoms pouring from her heart.
Her mom helped her make the papier-mâché flowers.
“She told me all about how, when she was little, she used to make these little flowers with her friends in school,” Vargas said. “It was nice to connect with her in that moment.”
Next to each piece is an artist’s statement. That’s something many art students don’t write until college, said San Ysidro High School art teacher Daniel Solomon.
“You get a chance to share with people, ‘This is why I chose this flower. This is why I chose this color,” he said.
It’s also the students’ first time showing their art publicly.
“I'm really, really proud of all of the entities that came together to provide these students an opportunity to display their artwork publicly so they know that they deserve to be, you know, praised,” Solomon said.
Teens Rise Foundation put on the exhibit as part of its work with South Bay students. Blue Shield of California, the San Diego Foundation, and the Doan Foundation helped pay for materials, transportation and other expenses. Local artists told the students about their processes and how they share their work in public.
In the past, Padilla said, showing her art to other people was “nerve-racking.”
“I've never, ever done anything like this,” she said. “But I wanted to push myself to do something new.”
The exhibit runs through Thursday, Feb. 19.
