ScholarWorks

Title

Recess with Friends

Creator

Leigha-Ya'el Sablan, Boise State UniversityFollow

Creation Date

2014

Preview

Medium

inkjet print

Description

Dimensions: 13" x 19"

Artist Statement

Boise has been my home for the past 24 years, and nearing the end of graduation I'll be starting a new chapter in my life outside of Idaho. When I started in photography I used it as a means of recording/documenting life from day-to-day, and now that I've completed this milestone in my life of graduating from college, I'd like to document my last few months here in Boise, where I can remember my home, remember where I came from. Each of these photographs represent childhood memories up to one of the biggest milestones in my life, being proposed to. There are no people in these images because there are more than just one memory to each scene, each place. These memories are what's most important to me, where I grew up, the schools I went to, the friends I made, and how I grew into the person I am now.

Every artist has a passion, a drive to do something through his or her art. With photography, my drive is to remember what's been the most important in my life, my family, friends, the things I've done or events I've gone to. The images of my home, my neighborhood are important to me because I've lived there pretty much my whole life, my family has never moved but we have seen neighbors and friends come and go. And now I'll be one of the ones leaving the nest.

The schools were important to me because they were always close to home. We actually live near the elementary school my brothers, and for a short time my sister, and I went to. I remember walking to school in the morning with my brothers, my mom watching us as we made our way to the school grounds. We used to come to the school during the weekends when we were bored at home. Fairmont Jr. High also held some good memories, my mom worked there in the cafeteria, I remember seeing her preparing the lunches for the day. My brother and I even worked in the cafeteria one year with her.

Making new friends was hard, I had always been so shy, but I look back and realize that it wasn't that hard. Hanging out with my friends at Delsa's Ice Cream Parlour was sort of where everyone became friends. You'd come here and have ice cream and rant about your day from school like any other teenager.

Then there's St. Marks, the church I grew up going to with my family every Sunday morning. All through junior high and high school I attended this church, even was witness to the rebuilding of the new church just down the street. I made so many friends through the church groups, even got to see some friends from my past.

Capital High School is where my soon to be husband and I started dating; it was actually because of him that I started using photography more and more in my life. I wanted to be able to remember the both of us in high school, our first date, when we'd walk together between classes, hanging out on the weekends. He's been serving in our United States Navy these last three years, which brings us to my final image, my most favorite memory. The place where I said yes. He brought me to that place so many times before, but last Christmas Eve he popped the question, in the same spot where his dad asked the same question to his mom, the same place where they got married, where he says he plans to bring our kids to this very spot and tell them, "That's where I proposed to your mother."

All these places are so very dear to me, there are so many memories, the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" cannot even begin to describe every tear-jerking moment in my life. I'm proud of who I am and where I come from.

Rights

© Leigha-Ya'el Sablan, 2014. Photo credit: Leigha-Ya'el Sablan.