There are as many art styles as there are people, but they all start with imagination. Fremont High School student Jasmine Li chose imagination as the focal point for her portfolio, where everyday scenes take on bombastic and symbolic proportions. “As a kid I was super hyper and imaginative,” Li says. “A lot of the pieces are exploring stories and how they connect to my identity and how I had that imaginative twist on it as a kid.”
Her collection of comics that explore imagination and identity won the Gold Medal Portfolio Award in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Only eight students nationwide won in the art category, with 110,000 students submitting art and writing portfolios. Li earned a $12,500 scholarship.
Talking about her artistic journey, Li says, “In the past [my] Asian parents kind of banned me from reading comics. Of course I would want to do comics because I was banned from reading them.” As she grew older she began to take art more seriously, joining Ichen Art Academy—which has Fremont and Pleasanton campuses—and building fundamental skills in drawing, observation, sketching and charcoal.
Ryan Williams, Ichen’s artist-in-residence and teacher of more advanced classes such as AP Portfolio, remarks, “She was in those drawing and sketch classes almost the entire pandemic.”
From the start, Williams respected both Li’s skill and professional attitude. “She’s always tried really hard to make the best work she can. She accepts criticism really well. She’s not afraid to hear what’s going wrong with pieces, to know how to fix it.”
He also saw how Li grew into her own as an artist and an individual. “Her sense of humor started coming out. Which shows up in her work, but it also showed up in how she talks…As she’s grown up a bit, we’ve seen a lot more of who she is.”
Expanding on her early love of comics, Li created her portfolio works in a Marvel / DC style, reminiscent of the ‘60s and ‘70s, with ink and watercolor on paper. Working in physical media is a nice change of pace. “I already work with digital so much,” says Li, who does concept art and 3D modeling using Photoshop and Blender. “Settling down, using a pencil and paper instead of having all this technology is a really good contrast. It also helps me keep my skills sharp because with digital mediums you have a lot of tools already at hand…The traditional medium is how I make sure I’m not being lazy.”
Thematically, the comics explore childhood experiences in detailed yet surreal scenes, such as Barbies acting out a Thelma and Louise-style plot. “I’m proud of that one because it started off as something super simple,” shares Li. “As a kid I used to make my Barbies murder Ken and become lesbians. But as I was working on it I started thinking, ‘Why did I choose this subject matter? Why is this so important that I’m going to make a whole comic about it in my portfolio?’”
She continues, “And then I realized, Oh it’s because this is so obviously part of my childhood that indicated that I was also a lesbian…I really connected my sexuality into the piece as well.”
Next, Li plans to attend Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles with an Entertainment Design major. Williams says of his student, “She definitely deserves it. She put the work in, she’s creative, she’s good at this. She has a lot of potential to go very, very far. I’m excited to see what else she does.”
One theme both student and teacher emphasized is that aspiring artists should trust their ideas and not be afraid to express themselves. Li advises people to create what brings them joy: “When I’m talking to other artists who want to submit their artwork to competitions, they feel pressured to submit work that’s super ‘deep’ I guess, or sad or depressing. I feel like since my portfolio got an award, I can finally tell people, No. You don’t have to do that. I feel joy is also a really strong emotion.”
