From faint scratches of charcoal sweeping across the paper to vivid streaks of acrylic brushing across a canvas, James Jin (11) has used art as a form of expression — a way to explore and express himself.
Jin has been an artist since he was around six years old. Originally following in his siblings’ footsteps, Jin took private art classes and learned basic art principles.
“To me, most of my life, [art] meant just being very technical,” Jin said. “I didn’t really see it as something fun; it was an obligation to me [as I followed in my siblings’ footsteps] … But the more I explored art, the more I started understanding its true values. So to me, it means a form of expression … It relieves stress … and it really explores who you are as a person.”
As he grew, he experimented with different mediums and discovered what resonated with him by combining different materials to create one cohesive piece of art.
“My favorite [medium] is multimedia,” Jin said. “I would just take charcoal, colored [pencils and] Sharpie. Take everything [and] just splash it all on the piece … There are no qualms [about] how you can use acrylic to express yourself. I also really like charcoal, but I think the problem with charcoal is that everything is in black and white … I like to use color to express myself. There is more dimension … [For acrylic paint,] there are confined colors to it [like] cobalt blue [from the paint tube]. You can mix [acrylic paint] to make so many different colors.”
Jin was accepted into the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts (GSFTA) for visual arts during the summer of 2024, and his experience at GSFTA reignited his passion for art.
“I went [to GSFTA] with nothing on my mind but I remember this one art teacher, Ms. Dawn,” Jin said. “She had this class called ‘Advanced Drawing,’ and that [was] the first time art was genuinely fun to me, which is because she told you, ‘There’s no mistakes; just go at it; however you feel, just go at it … That’s the first time I genuinely sat there, and I just put whatever I wanted on the paper, and I didn’t stop to see what I missed out on.”
Last year, Jin was diagnosed with mild to severe ADHD, also known as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. However, throughout his life, there were hinted signs of ADHD leading up to the diagnosis.
“So for my whole life, I’ve grown up in a place where I felt kinda secluded from everyone else because I had a different thinking process,” Jin said. “I struggled a lot in academics as a child … My mom would always get mad at me because I wouldn’t sit still and I had a lot of symptoms of ADHD as a kid … It’s not horrible to the point where I can’t do anything but it also does affect [my] daily life.”
Having participated in programs and campaigns that advocate for neurodivergent people, Jin was inspired to create a safe space for neurodivergent students and artists at White Station High School — that inspiration led him to create Artflow. Although the club combines awareness and advocacy for neurodivergent people with art, Jin does not think prospective club members must be artists to join.
“I started ArtFlow because I feel like art is one of the first ways and [the] first step [where] we can get rid of this stigma [surrounding neurodivergence] by showing that [neurodivergent] people are really capable at art,” Jin said. “A lot of people think that they aren’t capable, but if I can show that with the first step that they are capable and can create amazing pieces [of art], it would just be a first step.”
While Jin believes that everyone can develop the technical skill to become an artist, he also recognizes and advises others to set their mind free and allow it to take them wherever they want to be when creating a new piece.
“My sister was telling me, ‘If you want to do good on a piece, you can’t be afraid to make mistakes. You gotta go straight at it,’” Jin said. “However you are feeling at the moment, start with something light … Just do whatever you want to do on the work and just fully commit.”
