Youth artists
Osvaldo Casarrubias, Y.O.U.A.H.S., age 18
Bryant Montoya, Alliance College Ready Academy High School #5, age 16
The process of being able to work with other youth artists was an honor. I was able to discover new styles of drawing and new perspectives on art. I learned a lot about the community and the culture that surrounds me. Overall I felt like I grew as an individual and became a better person.
Nylah Scypion-Butler, LACHSA, age 16
Lead artist
Jose Lozano was born in Los Angeles and received his MFA from CSUF in 1987. He is a visual artist, writer and educator. He just completed work on the LA Brea/Exposition station, slated to open in April 2012. He has taught art at the university level as well as, at risk youth with the HeArt Project and children in public schools.His children’s book Once Around the Block was published in 2008 by Cinco Puntos Press.
“During the story-gathering phase, many photos were taken, especially at the Rose Garden event. I developed the photos, mainly close portraits and put them side-by-side. The students loved the format so it was decided we try a quilt like design, using different color squares as backgrounds for each portrait. I took several more photos on Vermont and MLK Boulevard to get a more varied group of faces. Learning about the history of the area also gave us so much material for designs. One student was very interested in Bojangles’ life and residence in the area. We’d scrapped the idea for a design, honoring him, but Osvaldo and Devon came up with the idea of him dancing in the clouds and upon their insistence, we developed another design. The roses idea and look came from Devon and the beautiful background pattern. Which unifies the design, came from Nylah.”
