In this segment of our Eyes on the Prize series, we would like to introduce you to another pair of 2012 Portfolio Gold winners: Elise Wunderlich and Rosa Wolf.

Elise comes from Lake Oswego, OR, and also spent a semester at The Oxbow School in Napa, California. Much of her work, she says, is actually research:

“I use my physical body as a creative foundation. The work is a quest for my own identity, a research project about who I am. I develop a line of research questions: about my mind, my body, my vices, and my impact upon others, which becomes my unique artistic process.” Elise uses many media, from ink to thread to digital video, in order to explore her place in the world and to gain a greater sense of personal meaning. Check out some of the videos from her Award-winning Art Portfolio here and listen to Elise reflect on her creative process.

Rosa hails from Boise, Idaho, and is now a freshman at the University of Arizona. She writes about her struggles and her successes with a goal in mind to help other teens feel less alone.

In her Writer’s Statement, Rosa explains: “I tend to view things in terms of all of their complexities. “I don’t like either/or answers and I don’t like black and white situations. I believe that nearly nothing is black and white. Writing allows me to explore and express the grey areas, and to address uncertainties with confidence.”