France & China

My cultural heritage of being Chinese gives me an Asian reference point and lens to view the world. My family immigrated to the US in the late 1800s- early 1900’s they experienced economic and political upheavals of that time. They began with coming to California to escape famine, wars & poverty in China in hopes of work and benefiting from the Gold Rush.  Later they endured WW2 and experienced the animosity against Asians in the US during war time.  They experienced a typical roller coaster of new immigrant emotions. Even my own childhood of being a Chinese American child during the Vietnam war highly influenced my identity as an Asian American.  When young my heritage made me feel more like an outcast but as I’ve grown older I realize the beauty of our country is our cultural differences. Every diverse culture coming to the United States has made us a more understanding country. Countries are better when they can recognize and embrace a variety of people from many cultures.  It is hard for countries to help immigrants and to accept the economic, emotional and physical challenges it brings.  But it is the norm of humans to migrate around the world and to bring their culture with them.  The nature of humanity is to always seek better for their future offspring and it can often involve displacing one’s family from country and culture. Asian (my heritage) filial support and perseverance has been the basis of my childhood and is now passed  on to my children. Watsonville has been a culturally inclusive community in our area. It continues to be a vestige of the American dream of being accepted for who you are and the culture from when you began. As a public artist, viewers view my art through a lens that is created by my vision. The beauty of being a public artist is that you help to mold and inform your audience of your particular viewpoint through your artwork.  As a public artist you are fortunate to have a variety of viewers because your art is in high traffic spaces.  Art is not typically seen if only presented in a museum or gallery format.  By being able to interact with those not expecting to be confronted by art there is a chance of opening mindsets to different perspectives and messages.