Imani “Rain” Wilson, a senior at Del Mar High School, discusses her journey in art, which began as a therapeutic outlet for her emotions. Initially a hobby, art evolved into a serious pursuit, leading her to enroll in an advanced HL art class this year at Del Mar. Before taking this new class she was enrolled in an animation class last year. Wilson has also enrolled in an SVCTE program this year where she is taking a coding app class.
Mrs. Alston, Wilson’s art teacher, describes her artistic growth over several years.
After being asked about Wilson’s growth, Alston noted, “Well, I’ve had her for a couple of years now, and I’ve really seen not only her technical ability develop and grow over the years. But also her mindset and being like willing to try things that are outside her comfort zone.”
Wilson has brought unique strengths and qualities to her artwork and proceeded to accept working outside of her element. Wilson has explored realism by focusing on blending elements of semi-realism and cartoon art styles.
Recently, Mrs. Alston has given feedback on the anatomy proportions of her current project. Both share a long bond that has been established over the years since Wilson has been at Del Mar.
When asked about Wilson’s approach to feedback in the creative process, Mrs. Alston stated, “She’s always been very receptive with me with her feedback. I think over the years, she and I have developed a very good, respectful rapport with each other, and we have developed a trust so that she trusts my feedback for her is in her best interest, that I’m not picking on her, or her work, or any comments that are personal to her. The feedback is solely for the improvement of her work … she accepts the feedback.”
For Wilson’s IB Art HL class artist portfolio, she recalls her love for art since she could hold a pencil. As a child, she faced personal challenges that required therapy, which significantly influenced her personal growth.
“Since I grabbed a pencil, I’ve always been drawn to making art,” Wilson said. “It’s helped a lot, especially with my journey growing as a person and stuff. I’ve been through therapy and a lot of stuff. And through therapy, I’ve always been told that drawing instead of talking about my emotions, like drawing it out, making art about it helps. [Since] I was more of a soft-spoken or like, quiet person who never really liked talking about my emotions, especially with my dad not being in the picture. Really, I was always like mad. I was just trouble.”
Wilson incorporates themes of religion and trust to emphasize her positive relationship with Christianity. She dedicates her journey to faith and its power to uplift others in similar ways. Through her art, Wilson aims to convey a deeper understanding of her beliefs—beliefs that have allowed her to grow as a faithful person.
“It’s more like this is how God sees you, but he still loves you nonetheless. So it’s more like you love the sinner and not the sin. And with my art, I want to portray it as like how God really intended for, like, his word to be seen, right?”
By focusing on the intention behind religious teachings, she seeks to inspire reflection and understanding among those who view her artwork. Her piece invites viewers to consider the broader messages of compassion and guidance in religious texts. This theme is evident in her current HL art project, which depicts the creation of Earth, with Adam on top, as envisioned through her interpretation of biblical narratives.
Wilson has been balancing her academic responsibilities while keeping art as an active hobby. However, art is more than just a hobby for her. She plans to further pursue art education in college. Her current classes include animation and coding, which she sees as essential tools for her future career.
When asked if she plans to pursue art as a career in college, Wilson said, “Yes, because I want to be a video game developer. So with having being able to do animation, and I’m taking coding right now as well. Well, it’s like it’s mobile app and web design, but it’s like the basics of coding as well and how websites run.”
Wilson explores her creative side to connect back to her themes of religion and trust. She encourages others to pursue creative freedom despite any negativity they may encounter online.
When asked what advice she would give to other students wanting to explore their artistic side, she said, “There’s no right or wrong way to do art. I mean, you can look at how like you can look online, and then you see all kinds of different art styles … there’s really no right or wrong way.”
