2024 Cherry Blossom Festival Design Contest Winner: Danielle Libao

Design Concept:

The concept for this poster was inspired by two philosophies of the Japanese culture: ikigai and wabi-sabi. Ikigai means “purpose” and it seems to be loosely connected to another very common theme in Japanese culture: the red string of fate. The red string ties two inversely colored koi fish; our past and future, our ying and yang. And the many threads that are woven to make the string represent all the choices we made and people we met along the journey that make us who we are. Wabi-sabi describes the beauty of imperfection and the impermanence of life. The cherry blossoms bloom in the spring to quickly fade away just like we are put on this earth for a short while to leave a footprint before we say goodbye. This simple piece is very connected to the context of the Japanese friendship garden. This festival and the people we pass by are like the petals of the thread overlapping and intertwining. All our different paths have come to the knot in the middle where we meet in the garden for just a little while before we go our separate ways: to our fate.

Danielle Libao

Biography

Danielle Libao is currently a line cook with a culinary arts degree, but has always been passionate about creating art. She started drawing at 3 years old and hasn't stopped since. She is self taught in different mediums and ventured to different art forms as well.

Danielle's ikigai called her to leave her family and home in the Philippines to move here to San Diego. She finds inspiration for her art in the mundane struggles of life and the beauty of nature, especially in animals. Her favorite art styles fluctuate from cutesy anime scenes to hyper realistic animal portraits.

Even though Danielle is now working as a cook, she still finds the time to do art everyday whether it be the food she plates at the restaurant or a little doodle in her sketchbook. One day she hopes to enroll in an art university to study anything her curious and voracious heart desires.

Instagram: @daniellelibao & @iamthecolourindigo | TikTok: @iamthecolourindigo | Youtube: @definitelynotdanielle

Material: Gildan - Heavy Cotton™ T-Shirt