Drawn To Art
By SAEED SAFI
Tower News
Manteca High senior Christina Telles sees the world through the lens of an artist, from the buildings on campus with their many murals to movies and animations, and everything in between.
“Art is everywhere,” Telles said, “like what we are standing on right now is art. It was made by someone’s mind and brought to life. Without art we won’t have anything.”
Manteca High senior Christina Telles poses next to the buffalo statue in the Dawson Center. Telles recently attended a prestigious art summer school at Cal State Los Angeles.
Telles, who spent more than a month at Cal State Los Angeles over the summer participating in the California State Summer School for the Arts, wants to pursue a career at Pixar. She used to want to be a doctor or veterinarian, but her path was changed by “TV, movies and my community,” she said.
“If I don’t pursue art, I have nothing,” Telles added. “I have been doing art my whole life and never really done anything else.
“I would use it like any other person – I would give it my all,” she said when asked how she would use art professionally. “I would fail but learn from my mistakes and try again.”
Inside the art studio, Telles doesn’t fail often. Manteca High art teacher Jiana Boudreaux is amazed by the creativity that flows from Telles’ tools. “From the first week I had Christina in Introduction to Art, I immediately recognized her talent. One thing that stood out was that Christina had already developed a unique style that was distinctly her own. I always looked forward to seeing her creations,” Boudreaux said. “Now I have Christina in Color and Design and she is continuing to blow each project out of the water. She isn’t afraid to take risks, mix media, and express herself while continuing to remain true to her style that we have all come to know and love.
“Her classmates are inspired by her work and dedication to the arts. All of her success has been earned through her passion and commitment to her craft.”
Though Telles is talented in many mediums, she prefers animation over regular art because it is moving. Animation is alive and not static or still, like a photograph or painting. She is inspired by what she sees on TV and the silver screen, especially cartoons.
“I always liked animation because it moved,” she started, “… it was alive.”
One of Telles’ biggest inspirations and sources of support is her mom, Rebecca Telles. The two often draw together. Rebecca likes dabble in realism. During Telles’ youth, Rebecca was a stay-at-home mother, so their relationship flourished around pen, paper and paint.
“She has all the art supplies known to man and she always lets me use (them),” Telles said. “… Her and my father always get me things if it helps me art career, which is a big up.”
Telles said her experience at the California State Summer School for the Arts was both difficult and daunting. She was corralled into the opportunity after her brother was recommended by a teacher “but the word got out to me and my mom signed us both up,” she said. “I got accepted. I didn’t really know what it was until I got accepted and realized it was a big thing.”
Though she struggled with confidence early, she was proud of all that she accomplished during her month in Los Angeles. Her final project, a short animation blending 3D art and watercolors, was recently featured on Manteca High’s BuffTV, a weekly episode capturing the school’s most important and interesting news.
“When I got in there it was hard, but I ended up doing it pretty well,” she said. “I am proud of myself for that.”
Armaan Singh and Andrew Davis contributed to this report.
