watercolor, color pencil, and ink; 20×16″ 
“Can you recall the first time you were displeased with your body? When I started this project, I assumed it was just me who had issues with my body confidence. However, I quickly realized I was wrong. Most men and women alike struggle with body confidence. At first, this piece was just an assignment but quickly progressed into more.  My artwork is created to appear like an old Polaroid photo. I wanted to showcase the age of the Polaroid with muted and yellow-toned colors. All components of my illustration are made to feel old. Everything has its meaning, old wooden walls stained with the memories of years passed, the clock frozen in time at 12:15, and the skeleton who waited for something that never came. Any and every kind of media is to blame. Unrealistic standards are plastered on young children’s faces of models who have been edited and spent thousands to look a certain way, influencing their growing minds that who they are on the outside is all that matters. polluting the image of them, and the way they grow. We only have the one body we have.”
ARTIST BIO: Ella AMICK is a grade 11 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.