Candilla “Candy” Park ‘18 is what some might call a Renaissance girl. From writing and debating to playing instruments, dancing, and painting, Candy has explored many mediums of art.She has dipped her toes in some areas while taking a full dive into others. In her opinion, however, “the best thing humanity has ever done for [her] is music.”

Candy began her artistic endeavors more than 10 years ago. She started playing the piano at age six and joined a debate team at twelve. Debating requires you to use your imagination and think up refutations on the spot, while also presenting your case in a fresh and convincing way, and that kind of creative spirit can definitely be art,” said Candy. Although she cannot remember when she began writing, painting, and drawing, they still managed to sneak their way into Candy’s interests. Over the last ten years, Candy has managed to incorporate piano, violin, and debate into her daily life, with a brush of paint or a written piece every few months.

Any artist knows that creating art is a challenge; any great art piece must come from a place of inspiration. Candy’s inspiration? The world. “There’s a lot of beauty in the world. It makes me want to create more,” said Candy. Another of her inspirations is human art. Candy considers artists such as Alexa Meade a prime example of art in this form. Meade is a body artist who incorporates human bodies into paintings, and thus creates art from humanity. Candy is “in love with these concepts; [she] personally gets inspired by things that fall into this pattern .”

At Groton, Candy has undertaken the challenge of balancing art with all her school work and has done so gracefully. In the Music Wing, Candy particularly enjoys her piano lessons with piano teacher Soo Lee-Martone, who says she supports Candy’s “personal musicality and style” and “prioritizes having fun with music.” (In Candy’s opinion, music should always be fun.)

On the debate floor, Candy frequently participates in tournaments and appears in informal debates after Sit-Down. In Candy’s opinion, trying to persuade a group of people in less than 10 minutes “really boosts critical thinking skills” and is incredibly fun.

In relation to Candy’s passion for human art, dance’s “experimental personality” at Groton has hooked her interest recently. Candy particularly enjoys learning the choreography of various styles, from contemporary to hip-hop.

As for visual arts, Candy’s go-to “treat yourself” night includes painting while listening to music in the art center. After a long and stressful day, one can only imagine the tranquility of painting alone on a casual Tuesday night.

Candy´s favorite projects include her surrealist short story, “The Baptism,” published in the 2016 Grotonian. The piece concerns an unnamed narrator who repeatedly finds odd things – the pope, for example – in toilets. “There’s no climax or resolution – more of a dream than a story,” Candy says. “I like to say that it has themes of religion, LGBTQ, and our offbeat relationships with ourselves when alone, but honestly I didn’t quite think about the point of it while I wrote it.”

After Groton, Candy’s artistic future will be far from over. After four academically intense years at Groton, Candy plans to take a well-deserved year off to pursue her artistic passions. She hopes to build a tattoo portfolio and subsequently complete a tattoo apprenticeship. I love tattoos because I love all body art!

“I’m taken by the concept of a human being becoming art, and in fact I’m positive that people naturally want to become art in some way or form.” She also hopes to learn to create electronic music and continue dancing, among other things. Additionally, if all goes well, Candy would like to publish her nonfiction and fiction stories as well as her poetry collection one day.