“Within this drawing, the seed emerging from my silhouette grows into my life experiences, at first naíve and childlike, later experiencing both joy and pain, and finally connecting to significant persons in my life. Their connection symbolizes the ongoing mutual journey of life shaped by these relationships.”

Nathan Paluzzi attended a small, progressive elementary and middle school that integrated art throughout its curriculum. In the fourth grade, he was accepted into the To Work in Gaining Skills (TWIGS) Program at the Baltimore High School for the Arts where he received after-school visual art training from grades five through eight. Nathan is proficient in several media, including painting, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. "My exposure to art influences my academic abilities, apparent with certain courses such as geometry, which is highly pictorial, and world history, which is a large part of art history." Nathan, who is legally blind, finds that he has more confidence in all areas of life because of the competence gained in art. "Feeling accomplished in visual art has helped me live my life and enjoy it like everybody else without worrying too much about my disability. Art has always been a large part of my life, on a personal level of expression, through support of my academics and through promoting confidence to live life to the fullest regardless of my disability." Nathan is a senior at the Baltimore High School for the Arts and was a recipient of the Expanding Horizon's scholarship through The Johns Hopkins University in 2001.

Transcending, graphite and colored pencil (18" x 24")