Celestine’s Senior Project is — Art!

Friday, May 1, 5 – 7 p.m., next to Kathryn Taylor Chocolates

— from Celestine Jensen —

Glassy Eyed CJensen

My name is Celestine Jensen and for my senior project I am putting on an art exhibit to showcase my work. My show is on Friday May 1st, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, in Eastsound next to Kathryn Taylor Chocolates. It is open to the public, there will be coffee and chocolate for sale, and music and art to enjoy. There is no entrance fee but donations are welcome. All donations made will go to the Orcas Island High School art department. Please come join me!

I decided to do an art exhibit because art changed my life. Growing up on Orcas helped me grow as a person and an artist. By sharing my work with the community, I’m showing what living in such a beautiful place, filled with compassionate, gifted people can do for someone like me.

From a very young age, I lived in very bad conditions. My life was a constant cycle of abuse, homelessness, and instability. During that time art was my solace. Before I learned how to read I would spend days outside in the grass, looking at illustrations in all my favorite books. I would trace pictures in those books, that’s how I first learned how to draw.

Creating things and incorporating my ideas into music, art, and writing has been my therapy. Art has helped me survive the trauma of my childhood and has helped me move forward in a positive direction. I am interested in the all of arts: painting, writing, singing, performing. I love it all. I get a lot of influences from things around me but most of my influences come from my own life struggles. I use art as an outlet to turn the negatives in my life into positives.

My goal as an artist is to inspire others. I want to encourage kids in bad situations to find a positive outlet, such as art, to help them through it. Everyone has a chance at greatness. I want my art to reflect perseverance and dedication and the unwillingness to be dragged down by adversity.

I am pursuing a career in the arts because it’s who I am. It’s what I love to do and it makes me excessively happy. I can’t imagine a world without art, so I want to dedicate my life to creating it. The world needs creativity and I want to give it all I got.