Micayla LaVaglio

Koi Piece

Art has always been something that I carried with me throughout my life. My love for simple drawing started at a young age, but as I got older, I cultivated my talents through various art classes in school. It was when I got to college that I started taking my artwork seriously. Here, I discovered my passion for both drawing and digital art. Drawing, especially, has stuck with me and is something that calms me. This calmness that I feel when drawing is the emotion that I was hoping to express through my Koi Piece.

I created this graphite drawing in my Drawing Foundations class in Fall 2018. It was the final project we were working on. The topic was to develop a collage of cohesive images that meant something personal and to transfer it onto paper through graphite or charcoal. What came to me first was that I wanted to create a koi fish art piece. I had always loved portraying koi fish since early high school. Whether it was through senseless doodling or through serious creation, I had always drawn them. My Koi Piece was also created using most of my own images. I had dived deep into my past photographs and the only part of my drawing that was not derived from me is a few of the koi fish.

To me, these creatures symbolize peace and balance. In Japanese legend, they are also meant to be of good fortune and associate with perseverance in adversity. It reminded me of the times when I was little and had to go and get my yearly physical. More times than I would have liked, I needed to get at least one vaccination. I remember feeling extremely anxious and fearful. When the nurse would walk into the room with the needle, I would stare out the window at the beautiful koi pond at the bottom. I watched as the bright orange and yellow fish swam seamlessly through the dark water. They seemed so peaceful and carefree that it lightened my heart and calmed me down. Even though I still really despised receiving the shot, the koi fish were always there for me to watch. This is what I want the audience to feel from my piece: balanced and tranquil.