Artist Statement: This is a self-portrait done with pencil and graphite on paper. Until this, I had never done a self-portrait before or stared at myself for so long. It was so interesting how I had to analyze every feature of myself; every shadow, every indent. Eventually, I realized how lucky I am. Each trait I have comes from somewhere down my family line. I am so lucky to have such a rich history and know that I share genes with people who accomplished the things that they did and went through the hardships that they did.
