Special Thanks

You may have succeeded in your journey to get to the place you are today. It is good to remember those special people that helped you along the way to be acknowledged and thanked for inspiring one to go the extra mile. This column will be one that I acknowledge and thank special people in my life that made an indelible mark on my life and success.

As a young kid, I realize that I was somewhat different from my friends. As I explained to you before, if you read some of my other articles, I did not speak very much and when I did, it was mostly in short short sentences, maybe even 1 word or 2. One person who spent a lot of time without pushing me to talk was my Grandma Lu. What we did was to pursue art because she thought, as an artist herself, that talking about art, which I was very interested in pursuing, would be a way to get me to talk about this new and exhilarating experience in the field of art.

My Grandma Lu is an artist. She loves to draw forests, flowers, and landscapes with water. She displays her artwork with beauty, simplicity, and warmth. As a loving, kind, and God-fearing woman of faith, I’m absolutely positive that she was put in my life to share all of her wonderful art experiences with me. As an example, she would take me to many art studios to observe the techniques of the different artists displaying their works. When we went to swap meets and other colleges to see different displays of vases, jewelry, and ceramics, she pointed out all the different mediums that I could take up in addition to the comics and graphic designs about fictional characters.

In addition, she took me to one place I remember specifically called “Coda” on El Paseo. It had some pieces that went way beyond simple flowers and landscapes to more complex and interesting designs that made you wonder how these art pieces were constructed in intricate detail. Afterwards, we would immediately go to the local art stores, pick up pencils and other tools to draw and craft new designs at her home. Grandma Lu would always surprise me with a new art book from American art, Ancient art and other genres that would showcase amazing artists through time and the creativity of the Masters of Art.

She continues to inspire me and wears my XZAKLEE shirt with love and the hope of seeing me be successful in my art. I’m truly blessed to have her share her knowledge of art and listen to her while explaining the vision of what others want to create in the art world. She may not be as enthusiastic about the comics, but she is willing to see the creativity that young adults now enjoy with more graphic animation. Grandma Lu is exactly the kind of grandma a grandson would want in their life. Her ability to share herself, her home and the immense love in her heart is what helps me be inspired to become all that I can in the field of Art. Thank you Grandma Lu for being you.