Chew on This is a miniature room I created from gum boxes, gum wrappers, and gum. The idea came to me one day when I was studying and chewing gum as I usually do. I just saw a pair of scissors next to me and before I knew it, I had made a tiny bed for one of the gum sticks! The idea just expanded from there. At the center of the room is the "person", a fresh unchewed stick of gum. They are in contrast to the rest of the room, where everything has been reshaped in some way. To me, the person symbolizes openness. It was really fun to experiment with a material that isn't usually used to make art! So chew on this: sometimes the most extraordinary worlds begin with something as simple as stick of gum.

This summer, I went on a life-changing backpacking journey along the Pacific Crest Trail (the website and the documentary). When I returned, I wanted to make something special to always remember my adventures. I hand-crafted, wrote, bound, and decorated a book containg all the amazing tales from my adventures there! Some of my favorite parts are the bear pop-up, the crawfish model, 3D toilet, page of flowers, and campfire pop-up.

This project won the Hack Club Arcade Art Showcase Competition and the 2025 Scholastic Art Gold Award in the Expanded Projects Category!