On March 11, CAHS senior Olivia Jolley won the annual art show hosted by the Escondido Art Association. As part of the showcase, Jolley submitted three pieces of art and completed an essay.

Jolley was ready to participate in the same showcase last year until she realized it was for seniors only. “I heard about it last year and i actually got everything ready without knowing that it was only seniors. And then when it came around this year I was like ‘I’m ready, I’m gonna do it’” she said.

Unintentionally, her pieces this year have an underlying theme. “I realized after I got them all together [that] they were all ocean related,” Jolley said.

“One says ‘thalassophobia’ and has a giant sea monster on it with ink and pen. I wanted to illustrate thalassophobia, which is the fear of the deep ocean and the things in it, because when I was younger I had that fear,” Jolley said. 

The next piece was inspired by the Nine Inch Nails song “The Great Below”  from the band’s album “The Fragile,” “because I really like illustrating songs’ lyrics.” Jolley said she enjoys listening to songs, finding out what the artist is trying to say and illustrating those concepts.

Her last piece was more of an experimental piece where she “wanted to try out drawing electrical lines.” Once that was done, she realized her piece felt kind of empty. That’s when she added the shark and splatters, in ink. 

Jolley began art at an early age. “My parents always supported any of my creative endeavors, so we had a craft closet, and I think I started drawing close to kindergarten, but I never really thought of it as an actual viable hobby or future until sixth or seventh grade when I joined a teen art program in Temecula.” After high school, Jolley wants major in marine biology but still hold ties to her artistic past by either minoring in English, art or both.
While winning in and of itself is pleasant, coming in first place at the art show felt good for other reasons too. “As an artist you’re kind of struggling to find a balance between loving your artwork and improving or feeling the need to improve. So it’s just some form of validation that something will come of it — that you’re doing the right thing,” she said.