Meet Alissa Hashisaka, a senior at Oregon State University, who is majoring in Art. We would like to congratulate Ms. Hashisaka on being selected as one of the three recipients of our Spring 2018 Honorable Mention Commendations for a Frederic Whitaker and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker Foundation Scholarship. You can see her artwork and artist statement below:
Artist Statement:
I am Alissa Hashisaka, and I’m an aspiring fine artist from Elk Grove, California. For ten years, I had been studying the art of watercolor painting in private classes under the tutelage of Ms. Julia Jaw after being introduced to Chinese brush art at the age of eight. As time progressed, my skills advanced as well, and in due time watercolor painting became my favorite art media. What had started as a simple pastime had quickly become my passion and an effective way to express myself. In hopes of broadening my perspective, I decided to supplement my knowledge with the art and photography classes offered at my high school, thus inspiring me to seek ways in which I could develop a career out of my artistic ability.
Currently, I attend Oregon State University as a Fine Arts major in the hopes of learning not only how to become a better artist, but how to be a self-employed professional artist with a fundamental understanding of various other media as well. With this goal in mind, I hope to greatly improve my watercolor painting ability to become a successful artist.
To prepare myself, I sought different opportunities in which I could display my art and gain experience in seeing how an art gallery is run. During my time as Ms. Jaw’s pupil, she encouraged our class to compete in the California State Fair’s Youth Art & Design Expo Competition, where I won First, Second, and Third Place ribbons in the years 2012, 2013, and 2014. In 2012, I displayed several of my paintings in the Sacramento State Capitol Building for about a month. Additionally, in Spring 2015 I was employed by my residence hall’s Arts + Social Justice Living Learning Community as a Peer Leader and its gallery director until the end of the academic year. For the two months that I was Peer Leader, I learned how to efficiently manage time and resources, as well as promote and advertise for the gallery. I additionally learned how to be an activity supervisor by hosting art workshops in the gallery, gaining valuable skills as an administrator. To gain better insight into what it means to be an art teacher, I volunteered last summer to be the teacher’s assistant at Bella Vista High School for Mrs. Tanya Jenkins in California, where I learned valuable tips on how to encourage students to grow and develop their creativity. With these experiences in mind, I feel confident that I can meet and overcome whichever obstacles I will encounter once I begin my career.
After I graduate, I intend to move to the Monterey Bay area to open my own art studio, where I will display my own watercolors and photographic prints. However, I also intend to give back to my community by offering painting and drawing classes to people of all ages. In this way, I hope to provide people with an outlet for self-expression, and perhaps even help others nurture their artistic ability to provide them with a productive hobby or a potential career option. For now, I practice drawing, calligraphy, and kendo as my hobbies.
Alissa Hashisaka’s website: https://alissahashisakapainting.com
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