The neighborhood that I live in is Dyker Heights which is known for its Christmas lights. I did a rushed drawing on one of the most well-known houses in my neighborhood, Lucy Spata’s house. They were the first ones who started to decorate the plain houses of this neighborhood during the holidays. Lucy and her husband Angelo Spata, moved here in 1986 and noticed how there were no decorations on the houses and they decided to do something about it. Lucy grew up in a family where her mother was festive and accessorized the house so she wanted to continue the family traditions. She decorates the lawn with angels to commemorate her mother’s traditions and now she has a sign up to memorialize for husband who passed away. She has continued on this festivity for 30 years now and many people come every year to see her house. She has started one of the brightest attractions in the city!
Woah Xin, I didn’t realize that was a drawing until I read your description! It genuinely looks so real I mistook it for a photograph. I really love how you captured all the illuminating colors blending together into one giant colorful conundrum. It instantly transports me to my own neighborhood where I frequently stroll around with my family during the holiday season, witnessing our festive neighbors’ preparations. It’s moments like these that infuse us with joy and truly immerse us in that holiday spirit.
In high school, I started visiting Dyker Heights around Christmas time with my friends because of all of the incredible decorations. This drawing is amazing and so realistic! I like how you accompanied your picture with the history surrounding it, although I’ve visited several times, I never knew the reason for the large neighborhood display.
I really love the image and how you were able to connect with it as well as the family of it. I really love how you were able to give us the context behind the picture to define what it really meant to you as well as others. Very well explained and portrayed.
Your drawing is amazing! I love how you used light to make all of the decorations to really look illuminated! The story you told with the image is also very sweet. Hearing about the person behind the decorations was very interesting: it is always nice to feel a connection to something we can so easily not think much about.