At the tender age of eight, Korean-born Sun Kyong Yom developed a lasting fascination with colors, shadows, texture and shapes that molded her into the artist that she is today.

From chalk and sticks to pencils and paint, a blossoming Yom said she created works of art to liberate her from a male dominated culture that she ended up leaving in 1980.

Once in the United States, Yom earned scholarships and grants to attend Chicago’s School of the Art Institute and Chicago's Academy for the Arts where she studied painting, drawing, color theory and art history.

Now the 32-year-old art director and fine arts painter resides in San Francisco where she received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from SF State in 2005.

Currently, her exhibit, “Edge of Sa-Lang” (“Sa-Lang” means love in Korean) is on display in the Cesar Chavez Student Center Art Gallery.

In the past, Yom’s contemporary art has been featured at the Palace of Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco for exhibitions in October of 2004 and March of 2005. She was also featured in a news story on aspiring young artists in 1990 for Chicago’s Channel 9 News.

Yom said she was one of the two "top" artists from the Marwen Art Foundation to be interviewed for the story.

Yom’s style of art “consists of vibrant color palettes and intense textures that depict a human stream of consciousness encompassing the gamut of emotional extremes,” said Yom.

She added that she hopes her paintings will convey "the interconnection of opposing forces and the essential balance they create for the viewers.”

Many visitors of “Edge of Sa-Lang” have expressed that their favorite piece in the exhibit is “Anguish,” a painting which features blends of blue and red made from mixed media on canvas.

Exhibit visitor and SF State history major Jeffery Mitchell, 32, said, “With ‘Anguish,’ it looks like you’re looking at a lot of paintings at the same time. It starts with red and it works the blue into it so that the colors are nicely diffused.”

SF State management major and senior Steven Muin, 22, had a different take on the painting.

“‘Anguish’ feels more calm and soothing; it doesn’t give me a feeling of anguish. It’s more relaxing. Everything blends so that it isn’t too bright or dark. It’s just right.”

Prior to creating something, Yom said she thinks of a moment when she has felt an intense emotion like love, hate or passion and than translates that emotion into a sketch of various hues of colors and texture. She said she often meditates to attune her emotions to keep her in touch with the intense experience.

Yom said her main focus is to create abstract art with occasional figurative elements.

She mainly paints with oils, frequently adding in diatomaceous earth, a natural powdery substance that creates tactility and texture. She uses a variety of utensils such as spatulas, sticks, nails and gardening tools to do so.

Yom said she prefers to use a wooden painting support or a solid surface to stabilize the many layers of paint she applies. She also uses acrylic paint, linseed oil and gold, bronze and silver powder.

She said she has considered exploring other types of art such as sculpting. “The possibility of translating emotion into a three dimensional sculpture excites me,” she said.

“I have been interested in doing a sculpture to add to ‘Edge of Sa-Lang’ for my solo exhibition in New York City from November 12, 2005 through January 2006 at the Village Quille Gallery."

Yom has also experimented with body painting.

She said she tried painting her body and her lover’s body and making love on the canvas.

“Metaphorically it was beautiful, but in the painting/drop canvas the colors appeared a bit muddy.”

Yom said her Korean heritage, meditation practice, positive attitude, love for life and fondness for discovering other cultures add to her creative pallet.

She also engages in extreme sports like skydiving, scuba diving and bungee cord jumping because she enjoys “the adrenaline rush and the euphoria it brings.”

Above all else, Yom is in love with creating works of art.

“I see myself as a creative being; a creative life was predetermined for me," she said.

"I can’t see myself living without creating art. I don’t know what I would do.”