Senior artist Salece Avila’s ‘24 artwork, a ceramic piece called “Captivating Lizards,” has advanced to compete at the 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. 

The almost one-foot-high, handmade piece will be evaluated by judges in February. From there, her piece has the opportunity to be chosen for auction or displayed at the rodeo. 

“I was honored to be able to create something by myself from start to finish that was considered something so artistic and great that it led to it being seen by other artists,” she said. 

Salece began her journey into the world of art at a young age, hoping to pursue a valuable talent not many can achieve. 

“My dad, a long time ago, told me I had really good art skills, and he told me that I should incorporate them in my daily life because I have a talent that a lot of people don’t have,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I did take an art class every single year because I feel like I do have a talent that can’t be wasted.”

The piece she created this year has much more to it than what meets the eye. Salece incorporated numerous naturalistic elements to convey the symbolism of the piece and take her own creative spin on it. 

“I wanted to convey nature in my piece because I really love nature, and it’s something that I think about all the time,” Salece said. “I just wanted to also incorporate my creativity into that with designs on each lizard. I did this technique called sgraffito, and I used black color and blue glaze to incorporate [the] darkness of nature and the good parts of nature, too.”

Her piece’s introspective nature prompts viewers to interpret its meaning in their own unique way.

“This one’s more like a broad artwork piece,” Salece said. “You have to be more creative to look at it. I feel like for a ceramic piece, you have to look deeper and find the meaning yourself.”

Upon observing her piece, Salece hopes to incite certain emotions and feelings in its viewers. 

I tried my best to convey an emotional theme,” she said. “I want them to feel beauty in themselves and the world we live on every day.”

As a senior, this is not her first rodeo. Salece has submitted rodeo art for three consecutive years. However, this year, she transitioned from drawing pieces to a ceramic piece. 

“I wanted to see if I had anything else other than a talented hand or a talented wrist for drawing,” she said. “I wanted to figure out, ‘Would ceramics be something I could also do in the future?’”

Her favorite part about art is having the ability to manipulate the piece to incorporate her personal feelings.

“Whether it’s my past or my future or my fears, I think that’s something that I like to play with,” Salece said. “I think it’s a really cool idea that you can do that through art.”

She claims art is also both her form of expression and an outlet for her emotions, allowing others a glimpse of her soul and inner thoughts. 

“I think it helps me express my emotions a lot because there’s a lot of unspeakable things, like a lot of feelings that people are just scared to talk about,” Salece said. “I think it’s easier for me to be able to do that through drawing, so people can just look at it and see what I’m feeling instead of me having to talk about it.”

After high school, Salece plans to continue her artistic endeavors throughout college and well into the future, hoping to eventually sell her art. 

“I will definitely be taking classes in college and maybe sell pieces that I make in the future,” she said. “I think it would be cool to know that something I created is in someone else’s home.”