Senior Louise Bondoc was recently awarded with a Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Key medal for her digital art piece, Forest. She received the award this past summer at Carnegie Hall in New York City along with fellow senior Miguel Guerrero.

“I didn’t think it would win at all,” she said. “It helped my confidence in myself and in my art. It was really great.”

In November, Bondoc was interviewed by Scholastic Art magazine for a feature on her artwork and the award she had received. She said that being associated with such a prestigious organization was an honor all itself.

“I thought it would stop after the ceremony but it felt like the awards just kept on coming,” she said.

In Forest, single-child Bondoc hoped to convey her own desire for the warmth and guidance of an older sibling in her life.

“In settings where you might be lost or wandering, not sure which direction to go, you can have someone next to you,” she said. “Someone who is sharing warmth with you and able to guide you.”

Art is undeniably an integral part of Bondoc’s life. She began her artistic career in third grade, when she used art as a creative outlet for her imagination.

She started seriously practicing art in seventh grade, when she took her first advanced art class and a new world was opened to her.

“I was able to meet other people who had a bunch of ideas, and I could just put myself into my work as well,” she said. “It grew from there.”

Bondoc’s love of art extends to her participation in the Art Appreciation club, of which she is president. Along with the visual arts, she also writes poems and short stories, and plays the piano and the ukulele.

“I love creative works of all kinds,” she said. “Art is just a really big part of my life.”

She uses art mainly as a platform for her personal expression.

“Whatever is on my mind, whether it be something personal  or more of a commentary on society, that’s how I communicate it visually though digital art and whatever I want to make,” she said.

Bondoc plans to enter the field of digital art, with her sights set on film and TV animation. Her advice for other aspiring professional artists is to work on growing within their chosen field and to expand into others.

“Get out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons,” she said. “Always be observant and take every piece of inspiration you can. Maybe you’ll come to something really great.”