Haleys Artist Statement

I decided to draw a picture of Victor in his car crossing the border. I also decided to include a building because Mexico has cities and hes leaving them to go to San Diego. Above the car theres an arrow pointing to the San Diego building because he is traveling to San Diego. I made the buildings look similar because I wanted to show the similarities in San Diego andMexicobyputtinginbuildingsthatarethesame. In the sky says Adios Mexico because Adios is Spanish for goodbye so if the word was in English it would say Goodbye Mexico. The reason I decided to draw a paper cutting saying Adios Mexico is because I wanted to show how Victor immigrated here and include what he was most likely thinkingspokeSpanish(nowhespeaksEnglishandSpanish). I have to say that my biggest struggle was the car because I couldnt gettheshapedrawnright,butIwasproudofthecarbecauseeventhoughit isntthegreatestcarbutIamjusthappythatIfinishedit.

Elis Artist Statement

I have made a picture of Victor eating a hamburger after he crossed the border because Victor loves hamburgers. I think that Victor might be feeling a little bit sad as he had left his home but a big juicy hamburger is sure to cheer him up. My biggest struggle was trying not to cut off the words. I am most proud of my picture because I worked very hard on it and spent a lot time on it. And my finished draft is a little different from my other drafts because my other drafts didnt have birds or fries and a drink. I added these because I thought I should add some fries and a drink to complete the meal and I also added a bite mark in the burger to show how muchVictorwillenjoyit.

Stefans Artist Statement

I decided to choose Victor because I felt like I knew a lot about hisjourney.My paper cutting shows Victor arriving at his new job at Explorer as janitor. Although this wasnt Victors first job (he started off working in a bakery), he came to Explorer with a lot excitement. In my picture, I wanted to show how Victor felt when he arrived both his excitement and his fear at starting a new job. The reason we know this is becauseweinterviewedhimandhetoldusthathefeltthatway. My biggest struggle was trying to get the right picture to draw for Victor.IdecidedtoshowhisarrivalbecausewhenIheardabouthisjourney, I was inspired to make this piece of artwork. I am most proud of my picture because it really turned out how I wanted it to and I feel like I put a lot of detailintoit.

Britnys Artist Statement

I have a paper cutting that shows a heart saying Explorer Victor the reason I drew the picture is to represent how much Victor loves working at Explorer he is our janitor. My biggest struggle was always cutting off my letters. Im most proud of my drawing because it turned out I how wanted it to. I changed my paper cutting by adding more detail like adding multiples of streamers surrounding the paper cutting and I really improved. I was inspired by Shelby mothers day gift it was beautiful. This also means that there are lots of paper connections on the paper cutting, justliketheconnectionsIfeeltoVictor.

Courtneys Artist Statement

My paper cutting border is a suitcase next to Veronicas body. Its about Veronica parachuting from a Romanian building to the Coronado Bridge. Of course she didnt really parachute from Romania to San Diego but I designed this to show the link between the two different sides of the suitcase (the beginning and end of her immigration journey). Im very proud that I managed to draw and cut the building out because that was the hardest thing to do. It was frustrating to cut out the words inside the Coronado bridge because they were really tiny. I was inspired by Beatrice Coron because she inspired me to draw Veronica parachutingfromRomaniatoSanDiego.

Antonios Artist Statement

My part of the paper cutting was Veronicas husky, and blanket. She doesnt have a husky but she has always wanted one. Youre probably thinking what a husky has to do with Veronica? Herfavoriteanimalisahusky.You think there are really more important things than just a husky. Well she has never had a husky but even if she doesnt have a real husky she still has a paper husky. When she moved from Romania she had to only bring two suit cases so she couldnt bring the blanket that her mom crochetedforher. The most difficult part was finding out what parts to cut and what not to becausetherearealotoftinydetails.ThepartImmostproudofistheeyes and the nose because there the ones that took the longest time to concentrateon.

Noahs Artist Statement

My job was to create the paper cutting of Veronicas body. On her arms I put some flowers because she grew up in Romania loving nature such as roses and lavender. I also put a tree to represent the one that she used to climb with her friend and sister. I also put some fruit in her body because in Romania they had to steal fruit just to survive. Finally, I put a light bulb and a sun in the headandshoulderbecauseherfirstimpressionofCaliforniawasbrightness. The thing I struggled the most on was the outline of her body. First I had to make sure the hands where the right size and they where about the same size as the head, once I got the hands right I started to try to get the restofVeronicasbodyIstruggledwiththelengthofherlegsbecauseIkept making them too short. In the end, I measured more and they look much more realistic. I am now very proud of the outline of her body because I spent so much time on it and I finally got it! I was inspired a picture by Elsa MorathatMs.Chownhadputonthewall.Iamveryveryproudofmywork!

Josues Artist Statement

I drew two flags to show the American and Mexican sides of the border.Iputlittledetailstodescribe whatitlooked like. I chosetodo the border because its part of Raquels journey to California. The border is hard to go through because it takes time. When you have something thatisnotallowedinCalifornia,they send you back. When people cross the border, they feel nervous. I decided to draw the border this way because Raquel got to San Diego by car. What I ammostproudofistheflagsbecausetheytooktimeandtheyshowthetwo different countries. When I finished I felt happy because I finally get a break forabitbutIwouldliketotrypapercuttingagain.

Rebeccas Artist Statement

I chose to do the ending of Raquels journey because I wanted to show how she settled in her home. When you are settled, you feel confident in your new home. To get settledRaquel traveled aroundthe San Diego. In my paper cutting I showed her settling in her home by showing the weather, city, zoo, parks and palm trees. I knew she liked the paper cuttingbecauseIaskedhersonJosue. I drew a cat for the zoo and I wrote SAN DIEGO on the top of the page for theparkIdrewtwobonesandBalboaPark. IhavefoundthepapercuttinghardbecauseIhadtodoitoveralotof times and I was so frustrated. Finally I asked for help and I am so proud of finishingeverything!IttooktimebutIdidit.

Alexs Artist Statement

I decided to paper cut a picture of Raquels journey. My paper cutting represents arrival ofRaquel coming here from Tijuana. In my picture, I included buildings, the beach, the airport and her driving here. Although, she didnt come by plane, I wanted to include one because it is part of the city. The first time I tried paper cutting I felt excited because I was using a knife.ItwashardatfirstbutacoupleweekslaterIdidbetterpapercuttings and lots of drafts. The best one that I did was my final draft. I am looking forwardtosharingitwithpeopleonexhibitionnight.

Ellas Artist Statement

IdidapapercuttingofSanDiego, to show that Ms. Chown came from England to California to get a better job, I showed Ms. Chown coming into California. It was hard to know what to cut out but, with the help of a couple friends I got the hang of it. I really did not want to do it but then I realized that it wasnt a big deal and went on and actually liked it. I am proud of finishing on time and getting it done and I have realized that being the first tofinishisntalwaysthebest. After I finished I mounted the background on to the back of my paper cutting.IthinkitlooksstunningsodoseMs.Chown(myteacher).

Valeries Artist Statement

I did a paper cutting of the London Eye. It was hard for me because I did not have a clear picture of the Eye. Also, I was rushing and not taking my time, on mypapercutting. I felt pressure because I thought that I was the only one still workingonmypapercutting.Ms.Chownhelpedmebytellingmetotakemy time and by getting me a better image. I was most proud of my London Eye papercuttingbecauseIworkedsohardtryingtomakeitalmostjustlikethe real thing. For example, I included the buildings in the background and the capsules on the Eye. When I first saw what a paper cutting looked like I thought it would be easy to make one. However, it turned out to be hard. There are still a lot of tricks in paper cutting that I would like to learn. So whenIdidmyfirstdraftIdidnotlikeitbutwhenIdidmylastdraftIlovedit andIthoughtitwasbetterthanmyfirstandsecondones!

Joshuas Artist Statement

For my paper cutting I am doing airplanes to show how Ms. Chown came from England to California. Inside the airplanes we have put the names of everyone in our in our class inside each mini airplane. We did this because we wanted to show Ms. Chown who we are. This would make Ms.Chownfeelgoodbecausethenshewouldknowthenamesofeveryone. If she didnt know this, she would feel awkward. I did a lot of hard work on thepapercuttingandIjustcouldntgettheshapeofairplaneright.Ittooka 100,000,000 tries to get it right. In the end I went through it and I really looked at it and I finally I got it right and I was so relived to finely finish it. I and Aaron are working together and we are working as hard as we can to finishthepapercutting.

Aarons Artist Statement

I have chosen to do a couple of airplanesbecauseMs.Chowncameto America in an airplane. I decided to makeanairplaneforeverybodyinthe class because I feel like I should share with everyone else. I think Im most proud of was the detail, I tried to do asmuchdetailasIcould.AndImalso proud of making my name. The hardest part was making the wings because the wings was a cretin shape and it bends it has small spikes continue ECT. SofarIthoughtitwasfun. TheartistwewereinspiredbywasRobRyan.Wewereinspiredbyhim because he showed passion behind his paper cuttings. We also wanted to showthattypeofpassiontoo.

Mollys Artist Statement

In my paper cutting I included an immigration official interviewing GimLewYep.Mypapercuttingisthe laststepwherehegetsinterviewed. One thing that I am very proud of is the question arrows shooting out of the immigration officials mouth. Because in Gim Lew Yeps story (The Dragons Child) he said it felt like the immigration officials were shooting questions at him like arrows. I am also proud of getting the words done because I had to do a lot of drafts just to get the words going therightway. Some things that I struggled with were getting all the tiny letters cut out because you have to write on the lines. And Getting the drawing and making everything connect because while being intricate you have to be careful.Iovercomethosechallengesbyusingasharperknife,reallyfocusing hard, and getting lots of critique. Also if you cut one letter off then you can messupalotofthings.Butifyouworkhardyoucanmakeitperfect!

Matthews Artist Statement

In my picture I included Gim Lew Yeps house connected by vines to represent how much Gim Lew liked to grow plants. I really wish I had made the vines thicker because I cutoff many of the vines so I had to do a lot of fixingandstillalotofitbrokeoff and I couldnt fix it. Same thing with the letters I cut off about half of them. I cut off the person in the train because it was very fragile. I need to work on not cutting things. Something that I personally enjoyed was creating the train. Because when I made it I was proud because I thought it looked like a train from 1922. I was still very proud of the letters even though they got broken off. I thought I had challenged myself. But in my finale draft I didnt cut off anything and I was proudofthat.

Chloes Artist Statement

In my paper cutting I included a picture of American officials coming on to Angel Island to get the Chinese boy for the test to see if he could come intoAmerica. Theboy in the picture is Gim Lew Yep. The reason I chose to do that was to show how harsh the officials were. They made him bow in their presence. Another few things included were flowers to show his love of gardening. The most challenging thing was the drawing because you had to includesymbolsbecausetheytelltheviewerwhatyoumeanthroughasign. You also have to show the interests of the person because the person who you are making the paper cutting for has to feel like you have a connection tothem. The thing I am most proud of would have to be the flowers because they were very hard to cut out because you had to go in circles to cut out thepetals.

Damars Artist Statement

In my paper cutting, I drew a Chinese village. I was going to draw Hong Kong but Ms. Chown helped me to realize two things. 1, Gim Lew Yep isnt connected to Hong Kong and 2, its hard to find a picture of Hong Kong in the 1920s. even though we both looked all over forapicture! ThehardestpartofmypapercuttingwasthedrawingbecauseIhadto draw the city over and over again even though I wasnt actually going to cut it out! The part I was proud of the most was my Chinese village I drew because I added a lot of detail to it. I tried adding more detail to my paper cuttingbutIcutmostofitoff.Formy2nddraftImadeeverythingbiggerand IdidntaddanyshootingstarsandinsteadofriceIputsugarcane.

Anjolies Artist Statement

My paper cutting shows the beginning of Esperanzas journey to California in the leaves of a rose. WhenIwasdrawingmyrose,Ihadto make sure everyone who looked at it knew what was going on in the pictures. To help with this, I put words around the outside of the leaves. The section I am most proud of is the individual rose petals. Even though they werent hard todesign,therose papercutting turned outgreat inmyopinion.Thereasonitturnedoutwonderfullyisbecauseyoucouldtell thatIworkedhardonitandbecausethepetalsjustflow. AftertheseconddraftthepartIwouldliketoimproveonwaswhen Esperanza,hermother,andHortensia(hermaid)escapedtoCaliforniaina truck.WhatIwantedtoworkonwasmakingthetruckmoredetailedand lookedmoreoldfashioned,soItriedtomakelookjustrightandeventually itturnedoutlookingoldfashioned,thereforeIaccomplishedthatgoal.

Shelbys Artist Statement

My rose was about the middle of the book. In my drawing I chose to show, Espranzas mom falling ill and Espranza having to work. Ezpranzas mom getting sick actually lead to Ezperanza having to work. I can somewhat connect with Espranza from when my Dad got hip surgery. He was gone all thetime,butluckilyIstillhadmymomtowatchme.Itfeltwirednothaving my dad around, but when he came back I got to play nurse with him. Its similartohowEzperanzawantedtotakecareofhermom,butcouldnt. ThethingIammostproudofistherosepetalsbecausetheywhereso thin and if I cut them, they would probably break more parts of the rose because it is all connected. The reason why I made the rose so thin was so its intricate and delicate. The hardest part was getting all the tiny details in asmallspacebecauseyoudidntwantittolooksocrowded. In the end I realized, the paper cutting was both really frustrating and exciting.Itsagreatactivitytodoathome,youshouldreallytryit.

Olivias Artist Statement

So, what happens in Esperanza Risings ending? A happily ever after? Think again. My paper cutting shows important scenes in Esperanza Rising. The first and second leaves are when Miguel, Esperanzas friend, runs away with all the money orders that she earned. This is very important because she worked very hard to earn these, and she thought he washerfriend.Whathappens?Youllfindoutifyoureadthebook.

The third leaf shows Esperanzas grandmother crocheting, when Miguel comes back from Mexico with her. Rather than stealing, he actually tookatraintoMexico,liedtogetAbulita,thencamebackallwithouttelling Esperanza. You see, Esperanza was planning to go herself to Mexico, but didntknowiftheimmigrationofficialswouldlethercomeback. I chose to put these pictures in because these parts impacted her life in a huge way. The hardest part was trying to show that Miguel ran away clearly.ThepartImmostproudofisthepartwhenAbuelitaleaves.Ittooka long time to decide how to show it, but eventually I did it by adding words andshowingAbulitacrocheting. I made some hard decisions too, though. At first I only wanted two leaves, and I was distraught when I decided I had to do three. The old plan

was to only do two leaves, and the rest of my group was doing two. But eventually I realized that the part that matters is showing the story. I added shoe laces and made the wording clearer, later on to show he was running away. Overall, I think Esperanza would be very happy if she saw this. Ive worked extremely hard on it, and I love looking at the paper cuttings together.Ihopeyoudotoo.

Emilys Artist Statement

While deciding what to do for my paper cutting, I thought about all of Elenas travels and figured I should make my paper cutting her life in China and making the outside of China my frame. I knew that her life in China was something big for her so I thought using these parts of her life would be important. I used larger paper than the other people in my group because I wanted to show the details of her life and the real shape of China and to make the paper cutting great. I used the globe we have in the classroom to make the outline of China exact. I had a very arduous time getting ideas of what to put insidemypapercuttingsoIreadthroughtheinterviewsheetandhadtheidea of making big moments that stood out in her life like, that she felt strange beingtheonlyblondeamongsthergroupoffriends. After getting some ideas with my group, I am done with my final draft. Now that I am finished I am most proud of how efficiently I worked with my group and individually. I know that if I didnt work well with my partners none of my work would have improved and if I didnt have self resilience I wouldnt havedonemyworkatall.IamalsoproudofhowIdidthepapercuttingonthe blackpaper.Thepaperissofibrousthatittakesalotofstrengthandyouneed tohaveflexibilitytokeepgoing.

Felipes Artist Statement

My paper cutting is the outline of Brazil with a smiley face in the top left corner because she was happy in Brazil and a huge house and a fruit Bowl. When she was going to the U.S she stoppedinBrazil,for4years. Well the hardest thing about the paper cutting was when I had to start over around 7 times. It was very disappointing when I had to redo it. I kept going because of my resilience. I didnotlikestartingover,itdidnotfeelpleasant. TheeasiestthingwascuttingtheoutsideofBrazilbecauseitwascurvy whichIamgood,becausemyhandcanswerveverywellbecausemyhandis veryfast. The thing I am most proud of is finally finishing my rough draft because it tookalotof draftingand itwas disappointing when I had to start over. I did not feel like giving up because of my resilience and I was very connectedtoit.

Avas Artist Statement

My papercutting represents the doll Elena left in Brazil. It shows how even though Elena has lived in the United States for 57 years she still remembers some things of the countries she had previously lived in (China then Brazil) with remarkable clarity. I did this because I feel when you immigrate (or migrate) a part of youiseternallyinyourfirst(andsecond)home. The hardest part of making my papercutting was figuring out exactly what to do. In my first draft I designed a doll that was rolling some marbles to China because I wanted to show Elenas journey before the United States her starting in China and moving to Brazil. Then I had the idea of a half heart, to represent (as stated above) a part of you is left in your previous home when you move. This led me to the dilemma of so much space left in the cutting. Only one side was full and the heart was almost empty. To fix this, in one corner I decided to make a sign pointing away from the doll toward America and make a sign pointing towards the doll saying Brazil to demonstrate how she left her doll in Brazil. In the heart I made vines and flowers. Subsequently, Ms. Chown told me the heart looked too heavy compared to the doll and I didnt know how to fix it, so I looked in a papercutting book where I found a certain cutting by Rob Ryan which inspired me immeasurably. It had words alongabeautiful,thinline. I also had to start over on my final draft, which was really frustrating. I had done the heart on the wrong side, which made it really hard to make the letters correct. I made a bunch of little hearts on separate pieces of paper to

attempt to figure out how to do the heart correct, but it didnt work, even thoughIspentawholedayonit.FinallyIjuststartedagain,whichworked. Finally Im most proud of the doll and how long I spent adding in every detailarealporcelaindollwouldhave.Thistookalongtime,andifyouseemy first draft versus my final you can really see the changes. For example she didnthaveanoseuntillateronandoriginallyitwasonlythedoll.