As she pulls back, lifting the pencil off of the white paper, Sydney Takemoto (12) takes a moment to view her piece in its entirety. Noticing where it needs more work, she leans back in and continues to slowly pencil in detail across the page.

“A lot of people, when talking about their hobby, they say it’s their way of letting go. For me, I would say it’s the exact opposite, because I feel like art is my way of connecting with the world,” Sydney said. “Art lets me intertwine myself with my future and my present and it lets me connect with everything I want to say.”

Sydney’s twin sister and senior at Palo Alto high school, Sabrina Takemoto, describes Sydney’s attention to small details, and how that aspect translates into her personality.

“Throughout high school, Sydney has become such a down to earth and caring person. [In] her artwork, she’s always trying to find beauty in little things,” Sabrina said. “Whenever she sees that someone’s having a bad day, she always makes sure to encourage them and bring a smile to their face, rather than allowing them to sulk.”

Despite her broad interest in art currently, art was not something that she envisioned herself doing when beginning high school. One of the factors that brought her into the world of art was joining TALON.

“Two main things that I loved were photography and design. I really had never explored photography before high school, but when I started using DSLR cameras, I started practicing a lot and felt the need to grow as a photographer and [explore] photojournalism,” Sydney said. “I started getting into design in my freshman year and I continued growing in it in my sophomore year.”

Through working on yearbook spreads for TALON, Sydney grew a love for design. That interest in design began when working on a page with former TALON editor-in-chief Devanshi Mehta (‘19).

“The first time I had ever designed something was freshman year. I was assigned to a visual arts interrupter and I was working with Dev. She told me that we could do anything we wanted,” Sydney said. “After seeing the end result of that page I thought, ‘Wow, this is a really amazing process and I want to do more of it.’”

After being introduced to design, Sydney wanted to learn more and signed up for Pratt Institute’s pre-college course on design.

“When I was there, I discovered that graphic design and art is really what I wanted to explore in my life,” Sydney said. “I was not prepared for them to be throwing a ton of fine art at me, so I had to learn quickly. Through that I discovered that I was not terrible at it and I discovered that it was actually really fun.”

With the newfound appreciation for art in general, Sydney decided to take more art classes during her junior year. 

“I realized that I was at a level in fine art that I hadn’t realized I was at. That was the thing that pushed me to take more art classes in my upperclassman years,” Sydney said. “Eventually I found myself taking advanced graphic arts and advanced drawing in the second semester and I realized that I was setting myself on this art track that I was completely unaware that I started.”

That change into art focus is something that her friend Ruya Ozveren (12) saw reflected in her personality.

“It was really amazing seeing her growth through her art because she was able to really show herself through her art. Everyone initially saw her as a more reserved person, but through her art she was really able to go and explore those new sides of herself,” Ruya said. “It’s really interesting to see how she was able to understand who she wanted to be in the future through her art.”

From her discovery of her passion for art and through joining TALON, Sydney has found herself being more vocal.

“When I was an underclassman and I was super shy and didn’t know that much, what really helped me was the mentors and other staff members to guide me,” Sydney said. “When I became an upperclassman I wanted to do the same.”

Though some people would describe Sydney as shy when they first meet her, most say they soon begin to see her passion. Nilisha Baid (12) has noticed Sydney’s change in personality during high school.

“She has become more outspoken, especially over the past couple of years. When I first met her she was pretty quiet, but I’ve definitely seen that change,” Nilisha said. “She’s become much more willing to stand up for herself and [her] beliefs and make sure that her voice is heard in whatever it is that she’s doing.”