Deanna Gaoteote

Art Student

"Art has so many levels to it but it doesn't change in the way that it helps us feel connected. Art provides us a sense of peace and I think we all have depended on it heavily throughout this time."

Describe yourself as a maker/artist/creative

I am an art student at UNLV. I enjoy using different mediums and exploring different themes with my artwork.

What are you currently working on?

Aside from art I have been doing in class, I have currently been doing lots of portraits to expand my use with different mediums. For practice, I draw different people and I participate in online drawing challenges to help in developing my own art style. I haven't had any big ideas recently that I want to spend time on so I use my mixed media journal to help me from day to day.

Has your work shifted in response to the pandemic? How?

My work has shifted because it has grown. This pandemic has definitely given me more free time to do more work and has pushed my creativity. It challenged me to think bigger about how I create. Within this past year, I started using digital methods to complete my artwork, have started to use bigger canvases, and started using pencil again! Pencil was something I used a lot when I was younger but never really got around back to until recently. I'm glad that I finally got to revisit that.

In your opinion, what role does the creative process play in helping us confront our “new” reality?

I believe the creative process provides comfort. With the pandemic, everything has changed and many of our favorite events have been postponed or limited. With art, it gives us a maintained sense of familiarity that can't be taken. Art has so many levels to it but it doesn't change in the way that it helps us feel connected. Art provides us a sense of peace and I think we all have depended on it heavily throughout this time.

Anything else you'd like to add?

All glory to God.

See more of Deanna's work here.