ARLENI SANCHEZ

I Remember

by Arleni Sanchez

I Remember is an illustrated memoir about my childhood as a Latina living in the small town of  Lawrence, Massachusetts. My childhood was a time I truly treasured because of my memories that showed to be extraordinary and endearing. Revealing my thoughts and showing different, vivid memories that made me happy and sad as a child. This memoir also takes a look on my Dominican culture expressed in food recipes, family relationships, and overall how I was as a little girl.

Bright washes of watercolors were my choice of medium to illustrate the pictures. Through memory drawings, not aimed at accuracy but experience, I was allowed to recreate the moments of my childhood. This is how I remember seeing my surroundings at home, school and other places I visited as a kid. I tried not to use family photos for direct references but used more of my own memory in creating each image. I express words to define my images. Creating the imagery came more naturally, but during the process of putting together my stories it forced me to undertake writing a personal narrative. 

In I Remember, I grant readers a glimpse into my past and allow them to see the culture, emotions and relationships in my life growing up. As an illustrator, what drives my process is having the ability to convey my own vision of moments come to life in my art.