MEET THE ARTIST !

Hello! My name is Alexandra Courtney and I am a 20-year-old CommD Major at Pratt Institute who specializes in Illustration. I also go by Alex, Alexa, Mya (thanks Dad), Xandra, it’s all good.

Personal Statement

The role of a designer is one that carries the responsibility of planning and producing works that are meant to interact with the world around us. General audiences consume what we put forward and what we put forward undeniably has an impact, no matter how small, on the audiences we manage to reach. And moving forward as a designer, a self-conscious awareness of what I put forward begins to manifest itself into what I produce. It makes me acknowledge and embrace what inspires me so that I can move forward in making art that emulates what I want to express to the world.

And what inspires me to design is my culture. While some of my work features themes from the unrealistic, strange, and supernatural to the realistic and literal all bundled up in explosions of color and detail, I’ve found that the work that resonates with me the most is often inspired by not only my personal interests but also my culture.

It comprises the culture of various hobbies I enjoy like listening to music, playing games, the occult, or literature. It acknowledges the culture share with those who bear the same

Name: Alexandra nickname: AlEx

AGE: 20

Sign: Aries

Major: Illustration

• NIghT Owl

• RESIDENT New Yorker

• PANAMAnian/Mexican

ITems

Fun Facts:

• Favorite Artists:

• Distubed, Linkin Park, Hozier, The Cure, MCR, gorillAz, eTc.)

• Makes own Earrings

• Iced TeA FAn

• Loves Animated Media

• HAs GenerAlized And Social Anxiety

• Was valedictorian in HS

• Uses ANY Pronouns

• Former BAND & ArT kid

• loves FUN MAKEUP

• Always in need of sleep resemblance to me, my hair, skin tone, and size coming to mind first and foremost. And it also recognizes the culture I share with those who identify as the same ethnicity that I do. All of these cultures that I am comprised of make me who I am, and they are points of reference that I take inspiration from when it comes to designing. Even quite literally when it comes to pieces that feature me as my own model and point of focus. someone on a personal level, the very same way I wish I had been able to have when I was younger. I think it’s the reason why becoming an illustrator resonates with me so much. We are so much more than just “artists”; we become visual storytellers who can bring to life what was thought to only be limited to words.

After countless years of not seeing yourself, any aspect of yourself in any capacity, it can become disheartening. It has taken a long time for me to push past the idea that people like me, who share my same values, ethnicity, gender or sexual identity, and interests, don’t belong in a space. And as a designer, it is my hope that my work, despite being perceived as odd or strange, can resonate with

Telling stories of becoming comfortable with my appearance, being proud of my culture, and being proud of who I am as an Individual. And I want those stories to speak to someone who could use them. It’s quite literally my dream.

B.