IT CAN BE ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO.
TEEN IMAGINE 2O25
Welcome,
Fraser Valley Regional Library is pleased to present our 2025 Teen Imagine Contest winners. We had over 120 entries in 2025, and selecting our winners was difficult, as always. We hope you’ll agree that these works are impressive. Enjoy admiring, watching, reading, and listening to this collection of winners!
Background
Starting in 2015, this annual contest invites Fraser Valley teens to submit any and every creative piece they’re proud to share. Every year, we’re impressed by the creativity and talent of our teen community.
CONTENTS
• THREE-STRING BOX GUITAR
• FEVER DREAM
• LUMINOUS DRIFTS
• CHERRY RED
• VOLKER STURM
• DEAR PEANUT BUTTER. WITH LOVE, JELLY.
• PEN2LIFE
• SUNKEN MEMORIES
• THE MUSHROOM FOREST
• SOUP-ER HEROES
• FLOWER PURSE
THREE-STRING BOX GUITAR
For this project, I built a three-string box guitar from scratch. The concept behind this guitar is music can be created using accessible and simple materials as this type of guitar gained popularity during the Great Depression period.
I used materials like plywood, spruce wood, frets, guitar tuners, strings, and acrylic paints to make the guitar. The tools used include a table saw, band saw, router table, drill press, laser cutter, and more.
On the guitar box, I painted the famous artwork The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai. This image shows the impacts of both music and art to people’s feelings and thoughts. The final product shows an aesthetically pleasing and fully functional guitar.
Grand Prize Winner
Yuxin Z. | 15 years old Maple Ridge Public Library
FEVER DREAM
This is an original song I wrote. I am a singer songwriter who plays the piano. “Fever Dream” is a metaphor for the beautiful, terrifying and captivating feeling of liking someone.
Grand Prize Winner
Lucy P. | 15 years old White Rock Library
fvrl.me/3T4J7Fh
WATCH THE VIDEO
LUMINOUS DRIFTS
These are my 3D hanging light sculptures inspired by what I heard through various songs and my interpretation of what they’d look like in a visual form. These pieces were made by sewing pin tucks, to then wiring them to give structure, painting using watercolor, creating bead clusters to float around, and then finally hanging each individual piece up with fishing line, forming these moving, dynamic shapes (in total I made 24 individual pieces). I wanted these pieces to mesmerize you just as much as I was whilst listening to the songs; to look like they were frozen in time, something to get lost in just for a moment.
Grand Prize Winner
Jocelyn V. | 17 years old Clearbrook Library
CHERRY RED
A poem about growing up and remember who you used to be.
Runner-up
Natalia
P. | 16 years old
Tsawwassen Library
seven was a playground of gap-toothed grins, the sticky-sweet taste of a childhood july. it’s slipping through my fingers now, a melting cherry popsicle, staining my skin tart red. red like the lipstick i used to think was silly, red like the apple i lost my first tooth to. i was so scared i’d swallow it, that it would get stuck and choke my words. apples aren’t so scary anymore, but words are always choking, and lipstick doesn’t feel silly anymore, but sixteen is approaching. it’s a shadow in the distance, something pretending to be bigger than it is, like a little girl in her mother’s old dress, a little girl with a sunlit existence, a little girl who dreamt of who i’d be by now, but i know she didn’t dream of this. i fear that i’ve disappointed her, wiped away that cherry-red smile. the dolls in my hands have become lipstick, my new favourite shade of red, i choke on my words more than apples, and that cherry taste lingers in my head. sixteen approaches, and i don’t know who i am. i don’t even remember who i wanted to be. sixteen approaches, and i want to outrun it, but it chases, feathers and wings and sharp, sharp teeth. sixteen approaches, but seven holds my hand. her fingers are sticky, her voice is sweet, her smile is crooked, and maybe a little sad, but she laughs at my lipstick and she sets me free.
VOLKER STURM
This is a partial fur suit I made of my original character, Volker Sturm. He is a German shepherd. It is completely hand sewn, except for the tongue and claws on the hands. I got all of the faux fur from the thrift stores. The head base was created from upholstery foam. I first designed the character on paper, then I made the fur suit based on the design.
Runner-up
Miriam S. | 18 years old
Abbotsford Community Library
DEAR PEANUT BUTTER. WITH LOVE, JELLY.
I made these matching pb&j breads for my best friend and myself! I crocheted them with love, and I’d love to share them with everyone!
Runner-up
Courtney K. | 16 years old
Chilliwack Library
PEN2LIFE
I completely drew this out of pen because I didn’t just want to draw it with pencil colours, I thought doing it with pen would be a lot more creative and more challenging, especially not having the exact colours so I had to mix up and overlap them. The first picture is the final artwork and the 2nd to the 4th is my progress. I have never worked with pen before but it was so cool and I definitely think everyone should try it. I loved working with this because the colours, there’s so many and they’re colourful.
Runner-up
Isabella L. | 16 years old
Abbotsford Community Library
SUNKEN MEMORIES
Memories lost underwater never to reach the surface.
Runner-up
Elisha N. | 13 years old
Aldergrove Library
THE MUSHROOM FOREST
These digital pieces are inspired by a dream I (the artist) had a while ago. I was wandering through a forest of colourful mushrooms, each one a different shape and size. While the sun was out, the mushrooms showed off their bright caps, then, at night, their gills glowed in an assortment of orange, cyan and violet. I wanted to capture the whimsical wonder that I felt during my slumber in these pieces.
Runner-up
Juliette A. | 16 years old Ladner Pioneer Library
“SOUP-ER HEROES: A POP COLLAGE OF LOVE, LEGACY & LUNCH”
This vibrant water-colour collage combines pop culture, still life, and surrealism in a playful yet heartfelt tribute to nostalgia and heroism. At the centre of the piece is a classic Campbell’s Tomato Soup can,an iconic symbol of comfort and Americana—delivered heroically by Superman himself, soaring through the skyline of New York. Spider-Man clutches his heart, lovestruck—not just by the soup, but by Superman’s handsomely heroic figure as he is on his way to deliver the can. He is surrounded by whimsical hearts, a heartbeat line, and a romantic “I love you!” speech bubble, expressing his admiration and gratitude to superman, turning this pop-art moment into a playful visual love story.
The sun, reimagined as a smiling tomato, radiates warmth and humour, tying back to the Campbell’s can (tomato)while illuminating the entire piece. Overhead, the New Jersey state flag and a nod to the “M’m! M’m! Good!” slogan playfully echo the themes of origin and taste. Mixed media collage elements of the cityscape and superheroes blend seamlessly with watercolor washes and abstract backgrounds, creating a dynamic interplay between fantasy and familiarity.
Concept:
This artwork explores the idea of cultural icons as symbols of love, memory, and identity. It reinterprets traditional still life through a pop art lens, celebrating how food, place, and comic book heroes can become deeply personal emblems of comfort and imagination. Essentially, it is a love letter to both childhood and creativity.
Bringing Spider-Man (Marvel) and Superman (DC) together in this collage symbolizes more than just a comic book crossover, it represents unity across fictional universes and real-life differences. Though historically from competing publishers, the two heroes have met in rare crossover events where they’ve clashed, then joined forces. Their pairing in this artwork is a metaphor for harmony between contrasting identities: the grounded, heartfelt Spider-Man and the noble, powerful Superman. Sharing a Campbell’s soup moment, they show us that even the most powerful heroes crave warmth, connection, and a taste of home.
Runner-up
Melody L. | 17 years old
Walnut Grove Library
FLOWER PURSE
I made this flower purse which took me around 18 hours. I embroidered all the flowers and the frog on the back. I also crocheted the handle to look like flowers on a vine. I also made the beaded clasp for it.
Runner-up
Adah S. | 17 years old
Abbotsford Community Library
TEEN IMAGINE
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING!
WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CREATIVITY IN 2026.
Fraser Valley Regional Library is the largest public library system in British Columbia, with 25 community libraries serving almost 810,000 people in its service area. Established in 1930, it is funded with taxes raised in the communities it serves, plus a Government of BC operating grant. The governing board consists of elected officials representing 15 member municipalities and regional districts. With its mission of “opening minds, enabling dreams,” FVRL plays a prominent role in the communities throughout the Fraser Valley.
