Carissa Park — THE MUSE

Carissa Park serves as Northview’s chapter president of National Art Honors Society, as well as a Teen Team Member at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Carissa also interns for the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning, a local museum/community center. The center holds several programs for local artists, from pottery for high school students to healing arts for cancer patients.

She has been in the Northview art program for the past four years. This school year (2022-2023), Carissa is taking College Board’s AP 2-D Art and Design.

Below, I, MUSE staff member Sujana Vangala, had the privilege of interviewing Carissa Park on her creative process— revealing the intentions and perspectives of her pieces, uncovering her journey into art, and discussing her present and future involvement in the art world.

Without further ado, here is the world through the artist’s eye.

Carissa Park | photography

“From the Inside Out”

Sujana: When did you start art?

Carissa: I started drawing because of my sister because my sister taught me little “lessons”, like how to draw a cupcake or something. I started off wanting to be like my sister, but I came into my own in high school when I started learning different media and technical skills (bottom)

Art makes me less ashamed of myself and my emotions.

S: Is there a particular medium that you prefer to work in?

C: I really like exploring media; there’s this push and pull with it, and how the medium influences the art, and how I can influence the media. It’s like the “wand chooses you”. I recently started exploring string; that’s my new obsession. My favorite part is the exploration though. Today, I tried cyanotype with onions. It didn’t really work, but it was fun!

S: What do you like most about your art/creative process?

C: There’s always this “Aha” moment. It’s like “I love this idea”;“I hate this idea”; “Repeat until AHA! and determination kicks in”

But it’s different for each piece. With the pastel portrait (top), I changed my movements while doing the sweater, and it just clicked.

Carissa Park | graphite

Carissa Park | pastels

“Reflection of an Old Woman“

Carissa Park | print

C: This piece is about coming to terms with death, and death being synonymous with growth, or like, marks of growth. This idea of being okay with skin being wrinkled or marks of time and my relationship with time.

S: Following high school, how do you hope to incorporate art into your life?

C: It depends on college! I’m applying as an Anthropology/Art History dual major and I think that comes out of my love for artistic storytelling and connecting to artists and their art through time. I think I might want to work in curation because I like the stories, but also, there’s a lot of issues in museum representation. Or museum education. I like how kids interact with art. I think it’s really significant in their formative years.

S: Are you submitting portfolios to college? If so, how do you curate those?

C: Yes to Brown RISD! Initially, I thought they wanted to see everything technical (still life and graphite), but on National Portfolio Day they told me to take them out. Now colleges are looking more towards experimentation. I feel like I prioritize technical skill for these portfolios still, but to other people, I prioritize emotion and storytelling.

Above is a progress photo of the described work. The completed piece was shown at the Johns Creek Arts Festival.

“Lift Up Your Head, The Sun Is Rising“

S: Every story has a setting. What was the setting that led you to make this piece?

C: This came out of a mental breakdown. Part of depression is this relationship with sleep; I have a hard time waking up. This is about me wanting to wake up, but feeling like I didn’t want to confront the day, and wanting to wallow in my room. I have this idea log in her phone called “Art is Infinite” as a reminder to my future self to keep creating.

S: What moment does this piece make you think of?

C: It’s a record of how far I’ve come.

S: Why crochet?

C: I like making clothes! And my fifth grade teacher taught me how to do it and she’s had a really big impact on my life. She helped both my sister and I academically; she’s a major influence. My grandma and I would also crochet together, so it’s a way to be closer with her.

S: What do you hope this piece elicits from other people?

C: I want it to stand out to people. I feel like my art is really aggressive and flashy intentionally just because I’m pouring a lot into it. I want everyone to feel the emotion coming out of it. I pick a medium through which I can speak to them. I want them to be able to connect to me.

The final piece will be freeform crochet (below). This work is currently in progress.

Carissa likes to sketch out her designs (above) on her iPad before creating them. “I like to play around with the colors in a way where I don’t have to waste materials,” she says.

Carissa Park | freeform crochet

S: I know you’re a High Museum Teen Team Member. How has that affected you?

C: It completely changed my trajectory! I got into art education after helping with summer camp. One time this little girl came up to me and asked, “are you Chinese? You kinda look like me”. It made me realize the importance of representation and stories in the art world. I also got more into curation after going on tours, especially with the curator of African Art. She showed the pieces not as a monolith, but for each country and its identities. She had this vision larger than the museum in how she interacted with the public and how her work interacted with society. I really appreciated that focus on equal representation both behind the scenes and to the public

S: What are your favorite artworks?

C: When I was younger, I loved Monet. It was beautiful, and that was enough– to appreciate art for its aesthetic value. But now, probably “The Mother '' by Charles White. It’s this drawing of a mother holding her baby and the way the mother’s eyes are soft and strong and striking— it has this element of black spirituality. It reminded me of my dad and my relationship with him, and the sense of warmth and protection.