"Moving Forward" by Aileen F

 

Aileen Flores (b.2007)

Hidden Compartment (2024)

 

The literary work that inspired my piece was the book East Side Dreams by Art Rodriguez. The book East side dreams is essentially a bibliography written by Rodriguez himself and his life journey. I chose this book because even though I can’t relate to it for me when I read it, it provides a sense of comfort. I feel this way because the challenges he talks about throughout are real and I know some people can relate to them. In this piece the dove in the middle of the canvas represents the sense of peace and freedom that Art Rodriguez had reached in his life after the difficulties he faced trying to get away from the struggles of being around gang life. The words dream and endure on the canvas to me represent the true purpose of Rodriguez sharing his story. The swirls of red and green as the background on the canvas just represent what I thought was very big from the story, Rodriguez being Mexican. Growing up in San Jose and the influence that had on him growing up there. I felt that it was crucial to include that because heritage is essentially what makes us all different and unique. The materials used to create this were various colors of acrylic paint. As well caulking to create the words with the help of a toothpick to help shape the letters. The message I would like to convey to someone who hasn't read the book and sees the canvas is that you can always find peace and a sense of freedom in life. Like I mentioned before in Rodriguez’s story he talks about his hardships in life and what he did to work to overcome them. So with the help of the theme throughout his story is to dream because if you work towards it they can come true. What I also hope to convey with the word endure is that even though you may think you can’t come out of a tough situation, everything will work out. You just need to have patience and practice staying hopeful.