Childhood Revisited

How does this student artist depict the complexity of growing up?

Emily Cheng, 17, Gold Medal, Drawing & Illustration. Images courtesy of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Award Winners of 2022

How does Emily convey a message in this drawing?

Emily Cheng knows how to make viewers pay attention. She draws cute images with a deeper meaning just below the surface. A senior at Newton South High School in Newton, Massachusetts, 17-year-old Emily plans to study psychology at a liberal arts school while continuing to pursue art on the side.

Images courtesy of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Award Winners of 2022.

Emily Cheng

What inspired this award-winning drawing?

It is about growing up. I was that kid who would bring a stuffed animal everywhere I went, so the characters symbolize my childhood. It’s absurd that the stuffed animals are in the laundry room by themselves, and that’s how I feel about growing up. I get to make more of my own decisions, but I kind of feel like a stuffed animal; I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing. I came up with the title Self-Government because the stuffed animals are governing themselves.

What was your working process?

A lot of the work was in developing the composition. There are so many pieces, and I had to make them fill the space nicely. I wanted to create focal points, with other things differentiated in the background. The drawing is pretty big, and soft pastels are tiny, so it took a while to get all the white space filled in. And it was only the second or third time I’d drawn with soft pastels, so it was a learning experience. I worked on it in art class for a year, though near the end I would come home and draw whenever I was free. I really care about the details, so it took a while.

What are some of the details you hope viewers will notice?

The exact green of the giraffe’s shirt comes from a frog stuffed animal I had. The sticker on its back is an homage to the stickers I used to get after a doctor’s appointment that I’d put on my shirt. The panda in the dryer shows a sense of turmoil. He’s spinning around and isn’t sure exactly what’s happening.

What advice do you have for aspiring artists like yourself?

Drawing something has a really cool ability—that’s better than words—to express your idea in its truest form. So whatever you find interesting or get a spark from, just draw it.

Emily Cheng won a Gold Medal for her drawing in the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

To learn more about this program, visit artandwriting.org

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