Karina Rodriguez: Passion for Art and Unique Talent
Youngest Finalist at the City of Doral Hispanic Heritage Art Exhibition
By: María Alejandra Pulgar
@marialepulgar – NAHJ #37172
The youngest finalist at the 2018 City of Doral Hispanic Heritage Art Exhibition is fifteen-year-old Karina Rodriguez, who participated with a beautiful realist painting she created for her portfolio to apply to enter Design and Architecture High School (DASH) last year.
Her talent is remarkable and she was able to showcase it on the pieces she prepared for her application to successfully enter in the tenth grade to the prestigious magnet program at DASH. It is an important accomplishment, given that only a few places were available for new students.
Karina has always been an artistic girl but found her passion for art when she started to work on the portfolio. “I want to show something that is unique, my thoughts and feelings. I portrait myself as a quiet girl but I am quite creative.”
Her sketchbooks are impressive, full of exploration, introspection, and expressions of her inner world. “Some pieces are assignments, some are things I find interesting or have meaning for me”.
The painting she submitted for the Doral Exhibition has deep meaning for Karina. Her deceased father was Peruvian and her mother is American and she has been brought up in both cultures. When she was a little girl she traveled with her mom to Costa Rica and an image from that trip is what she painted. “My mom took us on mission trips to Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica and it exposed me to the Hispanic culture.”
Last summer she participated in a summer program in Barcelona, Spain, where she discovered Dali, Gaudi and her interest in architecture and fashion design.
Karina has a colorful piece that she explains is an expression of her own world in her head “I wanted it to be surreal and create something fun, a world just for myself”.
She often includes herself in her artwork, and also texts written in a special language she developed. “I include certain patterns, numbers that I like and dates that add up. I created a language that I can speak in it and no one else can understand.” With that she wants to inspire those who see her art to have their own interpretation of the texts written, making them participate in the artwork.
Up to last year, Karina was a competitive gymnast, but once she discovered her talent and passion for art she sees a future in it. “There are so many things I can do with art; I can really express myself more than anything. It brought up my confidence. I found out I was good at something I was happy about. Art makes me happy and makes me find who I am.”
Finding her passion for art was a transformation for Karina. She found her voice and lights up when she talks about her work “I am a quiet person but not afraid to show my personality. I am a happy person. I get to do art as homework which is really fun.”
I am so proud to see this article. When I met Karina she was struggling to figure out what to do. Committed to see her through that process, my team and I guided her through the portfolio preparation, audition readiness and interview skills needed to apply as a 10th grader to the most competitive magnet and charter schools in town. I started off by intaking her to DASH senior showcase the day I met her. Her demeanor changed and she was motivated at once. A balance if gidance and autonomy helped her succeed. At The Art Shack we believe learning needs motivation and autonomy to succeed. After 11 years of preparing kids to apply to all levels, from elementary to college art programs, a 96% acceptance rate proves is right. Hopefully Inwill be able to continue on this path, and have the pleasure tobsee mu studnets grow and move on to successful careers. Thank you DoralNews Family Journal for fining Karina this opportunity.
I post here now and then about politics and all this time I thought the ” Mother with the girl in the water” was a picture , lol.
See it’s a painting , She has amazing natural talent .