If you told 10-year-old Loren that I was going to have a career in art, I would have said you're crazy. Growing up going to art class was one of the best parts of my day, but I thought I lacked any resemblance of artistic ability. In grade school, artistic talent was judged by how realistically you could draw, not your creativity. So that left me and many peers feeling that we had no artistic ability. Until I discovered abstract art in 8th grade. It was the first time I saw art as a form of self-expression. I still have the first piece of abstract art that I created. From then on, I saw art as lines and shapes, not only recognizable objects.

       Mrs.Conrow, my 8th grade art teacher, encouraged me to take Studio Art 1 when I got to high school. I took it my freshman year, and the rest is history (I know, that phrase is overused. I’m sorry.) I continued to progress during each year of Studio Art, and my interest in art flourished. I liked creating art, but I loved learning about art even more. In researching art careers, I discovered my dream job, a museum curator. I always feel like a kid in a candy store, whenever I’m in a museum. To become a curator, I will major in art history, my two favorite subjects. By 11th grade, I was a full-blown abstract expressionist.  I took all of my reference images and dug into creating abstract still lifes and manipulating the images. Then, after a portfolio review with SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, I was encouraged to pursue photography. They helped me to recognize and cultivate my talent as a photographer. By the start of my senior year, I identified as a photographer. My camera was another appendage and photoshop tutorials were all I watched. But as the year progressed, my hands felt idle holding only a camera, so I rekindled my love of abstract paintings. Next year, I will be attending SCAD and beginning my quest to become the head curator at the San Francisco MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). I hope to one day acquire pieces by some of my AP peers to show in my museum.