Art As Escape with Hyewon (Henie) Cho

How has creating art supported your healing journey?

Art has been a way for me to escape whenever I feel stressed out. I’ve always taken creating art for granted, until I started my high school year. I’ve always been busy and stressed about school, which made me become anxious all the time. However, once in a while, I would paint and draw and I’ve never realized until now how relaxing creating art can be.

What does it mean for you to roar? Can you share about a time you overcame feeling silenced?

Coming from a country that prioritizes and values academic performances, I had a hard time convincing myself and others that what I do —making art— is valuable. This one time, someone asked what I wanted to do in the future. I answered that I’m directing myself into the art majors because I enjoy making art. But he didn’t take my answer seriously. He couldn’t quite understand why someone would choose to pick art as their career because Korean society often tends to define art careers “unsuccessful”— since it has no academic aspects to it. Therefore, a lot of artists (especially traditional artists) are often not appreciated enough. I overcome this obstacle by just trusting myself and believing that others' opinions should not interfere with my goals and dreams.

What prompted your art style?

I don’t think I necessarily have a certain style since I’m still exploring ways to create art. But some consistent characteristics most of my artworks have is that they all tend to be colorful. I’ve only been seriously experimenting with my art style for about a year. I hope that one day I become more certain with my artistic style.

What advice would you give to artist that want to pursue their craft, but don't know where to begin?

One advice is to not be so reluctant. I remember that when I started art, I was constantly worried about the quality of my work. Your artwork doesn’t need to be perfect so just go for it. Obviously the first few artworks are not going to be masterpieces but don’t get so caught up with that. If you don’t like it, then just try again, there are plenty of opportunities to get it the way you’d like. Spending too much time in planning or worrying will only prevent you from improving.

What is one thing you want women to know today?

I want women to know that they don’t need to be approved by society in order to be valued. I feel like society has created so many impossible expectations and rules for women to adhere to in order to be considered a “perfect woman”. An individual’s worth does not depend on the expectations and opinions of other people. So don’t think your value as a woman is degraded just because you can’t fit into the standards and expectations society has set.

Hyewon (Henie) Cho is a student tending Korean International School, in South Korea. She enjoys traveling, reading, and especially photography. She is very passionate about art in many ways and is interested in majoring in visual arts.