Honors Art student artist Iris Huang has spent her junior year continuing an artistic career that began as early as she can remember. 

“I have always remembered myself drawing, even when I was super little,” Huang said. “I guess I had the resources and the time, so why not?”

Throughout her artistic journey, Huang has not dedicated herself to a specific style. Her medium of choice is entirely determined by what she wants to express.

“I don’t think I have a consistent personal style. I create the things I do because it just feels ‘correct’ at the moment,” Huang said. “Oftentimes, I’m simply experimenting with colors or textures or mediums before I go off on a tangent.”

Her art has been awarded throughout her middle and high school years. She was recognized with the Best of Show Award in the 2023 Regional High School Art Exhibition and boasts four Gold and Silver Keys from the Scholastic Art Awards.

Huang’s lifetime dedication to creating art has made it second nature to her, and it has become a part of her everyday routine.

“I have a passion for art, obviously, and I continue to draw because I like the feeling of it. It’s practically routine for my hand and my arm and my eyes to create, so I think living every day without doing so would be sort of lonely,” Huang said. 

Art also serves as a safe haven for Huang, offering relief from the constant anxiety of junior year.

“I also make art to relax. Some people unwind by reading or exercising–this is similar to that,” Huang said.

Her future goals for her artistic career are simply personal improvement in her own skill and comfortability. 

“I hope to look back years later and see that I have improved, I feel like that would bring me the most satisfaction,” Huang said. “I also want to become really comfortable with drawing, to gain enough skill so that I can carry out my ideas without any technical struggles.”

She does plan to continue drawing after her high school years for the sake of personal progress and continuing routine. Huang strives to combine her artistic skill with one of her more technical talents for a secure future.

“I would definitely continue to draw as a hobby, for the same reasons I’ve listed before, but I don’t think I’d pursue pure art as a career–at most I’d get a major in fine arts,” Huang said. “Ultimately, I want a job that combines art and computer science, so that my passion would still be making me a living, but I wouldn’t get depressed just drawing 24/7.”

Huang’s artistic passion promises security and success throughout her time at NASH and beyond.