Student Artist Dreams Big
September 28, 2022
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, St. Teresa’s Academy is excited to share this feature on Adelina L., an STA student, artist and proud product of her Hispanic culture.
Pride in her heritage emanates from Adelina through her eyes, in her voice, even in her mannerisms.
Adelina, a junior at STA, is an accomplished young woman with big dreams – dreams that seem readily achievable given her infectious enthusiasm, natural talent and authentic love for art, and her strong desire to carry on her family’s legacy of creativity. “My dad’s side of my family, especially, is very talented artistically,” she says. “When I was a child, my dad used to draw while I watched. I loved that. One day, he put a pencil down in front of me and then I just started drawing.”
Early on, Adelina’s talent was apparent. Her mom encouraged her to display her art publicly for the first time at an art show in Kansas City’s Union Station. She was 9 years old. It turned out to be the first of many times Adelina would share her art with the community. Since, she has become involved with the Latino Arts Foundation, an organization created “to bring forth the fiercely authentic voice of underrepresented artists.” Adelina has, indeed, brought forth her authenticity and developed a sense of fierce yet humble confidence that seems well beyond her years. With the organization’s support, she has displayed and sold her work at Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals games. Last year, she was the focus of a story produced by KSHB News highlighting the Foundation and her family’s artistic talent. Just last weekend, she exhibited at the Latino Arts Festival at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas. The museum, in partnership with the Latino Arts Foundation, celebrated Latino culture with food, music and art. As part of the festival, Adelina conducted “live drawing,” showcasing her seemingly innate ability to create something beautiful out of nothing. She also has exhibited at various events sponsored by the Mattie Rhodes Center, including numerous First Friday Art Gallery shows in Kansas City.
Adelina says her art style is influenced by Latino culture, which she describes as “beautifully creative, with lights, color and music intertwined.” This confluence of artistic elements shows in her work, which has expanded organically into a small business. When she was 12, at the urging of her middle school art teacher, Adelina opened her own Etsy shop to rave reviews. In addition to offering stickers carrying her designs, her shop soon will feature prints, bags and other items. Until now, her products have been hand created with some production aspects outsourced to vendors. She’s now learning to do more of that herself with new cutting machine technology. Fittingly, she says, the whole family helps with the production process. Adelina’s designs are transformed to a finished product and shipped to grateful customers with the help of her mom and, often, her dad.
Adelina’s talent, generosity of spirit, and love of art will be highlighted during St. Teresa’s Academy’s Interim Week in January, when she will offer a student-led course titled “Interactive Art History.” The course will include presentations covering four different artists – Marc Davis, Bob Ross, Rachel Ruysch and Vincent Van Gogh. Students then will apply their learnings and their own imaginations to make unique creations.
Given her accomplishments, it would be natural to assume Adelina has undergone formal training. However, other than art courses typical to grade school, she is largely self-taught. Still, Adelina says one of her biggest inspirations is one of her grade school art teachers, specifically Mary Beth Smith at St. Peter’s School in Kansas City. “She encouraged me to sell my art and pursue my passion,” says Adelina. Since then, Adelina has been inspired by many others – artists, mentors and even young children – especially in the Latinx community. “It’s so cool having little kids watch me draw. I love interacting with them. When I ask if they’re artists and they pull out their little sketch books, it makes me happy. They make me smile, no matter what.”
Adelina describes her experiences as a Latina artist as “carrying on the talent of my family, meeting amazing friends, sharing the beauty of my culture, and pursuing my dreams.”
Adelina will take Graphic Design – her first art class at St. Teresa’s Academy – in the spring. She intends to continue her studies at the Kansas City Art Institute and earn a degree in animation. As for her dreams? “I’d like to work for Disney or Pixar someday.” A dream that seems well within reach of this shining Star.