Imagine a girl that lived in
paradise randomly decided to move to a country that has winter 11 months of the
year (Canadian Bacon movie reference), just so she could have the normal high
school experience, and then ends
up not fitting in what so ever. I’m
from St.Thomas Virgin Islands where I learned how to surf, swim, and live the
life people dream about.
When I came to Canada I had
the intentions of grasping opportunities that the islands couldn’t offer, like
working at a Hot Topic or even just plain meeting people. Even though paradise
is a pretty awesome place, it really limited how much you can grow by gaining
experiences that they couldn’t offer. OAsis Skateboard Factory has really changed my life; it gave
me the opportunities that I originally came to Canada for and incorporates my
childhood dream to make and design boards...just instead they’re skateboards and
not surfboards.
At my old school I was
never motivated. I just never took it seriously; I realized that I didn’t
believe in the school, I didn’t feel like it was getting me anywhere. How does
this tie into my board? Well, to start off, the design on my board is a direct
copy of this Loteria card I found underneath my bed during the time I was at my
old school. The card was in perfect condition and I had never seen it before in
my life. My mom had no clue as to what Loteria cards were, so it was improbable
that she had put it there to mess with me. The card is the death card La
Muerte, which gave me mad spooks. At the time I had a bit of an addiction that
made me super depressed and unhappy with my life, and as silly as it sounds,
finding that card was kind of a wake up call. I thought I was going to die,
seriously, until one day in Kensington Park I met a card reader.
Conveniently I had been carrying the death card around with me, so I was able
to show and explain to him what happened. He told me the card could mean death or change, and then I wasn’t really scared anymore. I knew I had to make
a major turn in my life, but I didn’t know where. This all happened last year,
and I still carry that card around with me in my moleskin.
I would have never thought
that Oasis Skateboard Factory was the turn in my life I was looking for. I had no motivation, and hardly
dedication to my own hobbies, and at OSF I have that and try to use my full
potential daily. My board shows what I can do and has that untold story behind
it. I chose to wood burn because I feel it gives the wood importance and depth.
At first, wood burning seemed pretty scary, on top of the possibility of
screwing up permanently, and it also came with potential electrocution and severe
burning. It was definitely worth the risk; I never would have thought I liked
using it so much! In order to not mess up, I was able to practice on a giant
piece of wood so I could teach myself things like shading techniques and
getting them straight lines without burning too much of the wood. Even though I
didn’t use it in my design, I learned a dotting effect that added a really cool
look, and what I did use in my design was small and close lines that gave it a
grim look (you can see it in the skeletons scythe). After finishing the La Muerte card on my board, figuring out
what would go around it was my biggest dilemma. I decided to go with a very
bright and electric look because it simply just looked really cool. Most of the
process was the wood burning design, and the nose and tail are misted with a
bamboo color that you can only really see in the light. The bright green is
just to frame the centerpiece, which is where most of the work went into
anyways.
What really inspired me, on
top of the fact the card looked cool, was what I went through to get where I am
today and what other kids like me have to go through to overcome problems they
don’t deserve to face. My board is called CHANGE because that’s what a lot of
so-called “delinquent” youth want, and my board shows people what you can do
when that change in your life makes you the person you wanted to be.
