Michelle Agado
Artist Statement
My interest in the visual arts didn’t start with a love for drawing, or painting, or even the shows I watched when I was a kid. It began when I first logged onto the brand new family computer and discovered Windows movie maker. As soon as the program opened up and I came face to face with a handful of pre-made transitions, I became obsessed. I never made anything concrete, but I did spend a lot of my time creating nonsensical videos that had more transitions than needed. Over the years I had discovered more design resources such as Picnik and Picsart. Every new free website or application I would encounter would only further my interest in design and take up a good portion of my free time. I had become relentless with creating motion graphics as well as photo collages and just about any other design project under the sun. At the time, I was not aware that my interest could be honed into a valuable skill for a career in the arts.
When I had first heard of graphic design, I had written it off as a potential career option because I never had a particular interest in drawing or any other physical art like my peers. I wanted to choose a path that I would be passionate about, and I assumed that any job in the arts would require a love for drawing in order to be happy. However, as I looked further into the pathway, I realized that graphic design was more broad of a field than I had given it credit for. Potential job titles required me to create the kinds of things I loved to make on my own growing up, and that gave me peace of mind knowing that I would be happy following this path. When I finally chose to dedicate the next four years of my life (and beyond) to the visual arts, I knew that I had made the right decision. I knew that the child inside of me would be excited to grow my skills and discover all the ways I could express myself creatively without so much as having to pick up a paintbrush.
