Hello! I am MacKenzie Flickinger, but you can call me by any shortened version of that! I am sixteen years old and have been given the honor of growing up in the small town ofMontevideo in southwest Minnesota. I have always loved making works of art due to my aesthetic great-grandma. Recently, with the pleasure of having Independent Art along with wonderful guidance from my art teacher, Kathy Kinsley, I have been able to focus on my work and creating series based on a common theme. This year's theme for most of my works has been the cosmos. I was inspired to choose this theme by a famous quote of Cosmologist Carl Sagan: "We are all made of star-stuff." Most of my paintings and drawings have some sort of living or earthly subject combined with a cosmic landscape or a solar event. So far this year, I have completed a series of four watercolors, three oil pastels, a self-portrait mask on a canvas, a profile on a cosmic background, a bird collage, and a few other projects outside of class. Some of my pieces from years before have also shared the theme of space. I like having the universe portrayed in my artwork because it is an important aspect of my life; I love to understand it, view it, and be a part of its complexity. As I believe all living things originated from the cosmos, I believe it is important to connect it with anything being examined.