Whether it’s picking up a pencil, a paintbrush, or a dance move, senior Kelly Kao is a true artist at heart.  Despite having strenuous courses and extracurricular activities, such as the Design Club, Hip Hop Club, and Senior Class Council, she still manages to dedicate time to her beloved art.  Kao is, without a doubt, an individual who will not let anything stand in the way of her passions.
     Kao has been drawing for as long as she can remember.  Kao first began drawing when her sister taught her how to draw simple animals.  “Before I knew it, I was copying my sister and developing my own style,” she recalled. Kao’s sister undeniably played a key role in her artistic interest but, just like many other young children, she was also fascinated by Disney.  The many cartoons and art styles of the Disney animations inspired her further and pushed Kao to test her limits. As Kao grew older, she became interested in anime drawings.  “But now I’m trying to get out of that now,” Kao commented.  She recently began to draw her own online comic titled Dormant Memories.  In the comic, she is aiming for more of a cartoon style.  “It’s more like Disney now,” she noted.  Kao is also in charge of designing the backdrops for the school assemblies this year for the Senior Class Council.
     Kao is currently taking AP Studio Art, a course where the teacher, Ms. Akashi, assigns a topic or prompt every two weeks for the class to work on. Kao beamed, “Studio Art is definitely my favorite class. It’s not as book-oriented as other classes.” For her current prompt – the human figure – Kao is planning to use graphite to create her piece.
     Aside from her love of drawing, Kao recently discovered a love for making feather jewelry. Over the summer, she began to dabble in the art and quickly found it to her liking. Before she knew it, creating jewelry became both a hobby and a convenient source of income which comes from her selling her creations both in person and online at http://www.kellykao.etsy.com.  Her specialties lie in necklaces, earrings, and hairpins. “Everything I make is made with love and care,” she stated on her website.
     To add on to her endless list of artistic interest, Kao also expresses her interest in hip-hop dancing.  She first began hip-hop dancing when she was nine years old in Hong Kong.  Two years ago, she auditioned and joined a dance crew named Underground where she competed and won in several dance competitions. During her time in the Sophomore and Junior Class Councils, she was in charge of the dance choreography for assemblies. Each year the class president would present her with several pieces of music and she would be free to coordinate the dances as she wished. This year however, Kao turned down opportunities to be the choreographer and part of Underground but will continue to work with the Hip Hop Club.
     Kao has big plans for her future.  She plans to focus all of her attention on her drawing during her senior year in order to achieve her goal of attending the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).  “I decided to take the risk,” Kao stated with determination.  She hopes to major in animation when she attends CalArts.
     The future for Kao is like a blank canvas open for her to create as she desires.  Her many different artistic interests highlight the endless possibilities. Like her artwork, Kao’s personality and talents are part of a magnificent masterpiece just waiting to be completed.