Senior Spotlight: MaKya Rose Barnes

MaKya Barnes stands 5-feet-10 inches tall, with a slender build and curly hair. People often tell her that she resembles the movie star, Zendaya, especially at the Golden Ticket Cinemas, where she works.  

She accepts such comments in the casual way that teenagers do when adults give them compliments. 

The Weaver Academy grad isn’t an aspiring actress, but she often says that her life story sounds like the plot of a teen movie.  

Her father has been incarcerated since she was in first grade. Her mother died on Christmas Eve when she was 11. Her last memory of her is of placing a rose on her chest after she had passed away. After that, Barnes moved from San Francisco to Greensboro to live with her uncle, whom she’d never met. 

“It sounds like such a movie,” she says. “I didn’t even know my uncle existed until I was told, ‘Hey you’re going to go live with him.’” 

But Barnes shares her story without self-pity — she credits that to lots of therapy and support from those around her. She doesn’t focus on what she’s lost, but rather on what’s ahead. She will be an art student at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), in Baltimore, MD, on a full scholarship. She wants to be a video game designer.  

Art has always been a source of joy for her. Whether she was creating drawings for friends or watching animations on YouTube, she could immerse herself in the process and make everything else disappear.  

“Once I get started drawing, I find it hard to stop and often accidentally stay up too late drawing because I’m so into it,” she says. “I feel very happy when drawing and sometimes stop to get all giddy when I’m liking where a piece is going.” 

Forging friendships and healing through art 

It was difficult to make friends when Barnes first moved to Greensboro because she arrived at the end of winter break, midway through the school year. It got a little easier in middle school, when she was able to start fresh at the beginning of the year with everyone else. She started getting into animations on YouTube and to make friends, she asked classmates if they’d like her to draw their video game characters. 

“I’d draw them because I was just happy when they were happy, so I just kept going,” she says. “Gradually, it became a hobby of mine.” 

Because of her height, Barnes was encouraged to play sports. She joined the tennis and rugby clubs and tried volleyball. She excelled in track, qualifying for nationals in the long jump. But Barnes didn’t really like participating in sports. She returned to art. 

“Sometimes I might not draw for a week, then I draw, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God. Like, why did I ever stop?’ This is awesome. I’m so happy,” she says. “Art is definitely a form of expression for me. I like to exaggerate certain bits of my personalty and habits as stepping stones to creating characters and stories.”  

Barnes doesn’t have too many memories of her mother. But she remembers that they used to sing silly songs while walking to her school together. They didn’t have a lot of money, but just going to Walgreens felt like a fun adventure with her mom. Barnes says her mom always praised her art work.  

“Whenever I would draw something, she would say, ‘Wow. This is awesome,’ and it would be this little scribble or something. She was very supportive,” Barnes recalls. 

Sometimes she misses her mom, but she doesn’t allow grief to control her life. She’s had to develop a more mature outlook earlier than some her age because of such significant losses. 

“It’s okay to feel distraught over a situation, but you’ll eventually be able to look back and be like, ‘I’m glad I had that time with them while it lasted.’ I don’t think my mom would want me to just completely stop everything just because she’s not here anymore,” Barnes says.  

Expanding her portfolio 

Prior to attending Weaver, Barnes’ art was primarily digital. She loves bright colors — the brighter the better. Some critics might describe her work as cartoony or childish, but Barnes knows what she likes and is comfortable in her strengths, which are fan art, anime and video games. 

“I love my art style,” she says.  

But she’s also not afraid to be critiqued. When she applied to Weaver, her portfolio lacked many fine art examples such as figure drawings or still lifes. Instead, she was willing to learn and was open to advice about how to improve her work.  

“When it comes to critiques, I really don’t want you to say anything nice.I want you to tell me everything that’s wrong,” she says. “I don’t want to have to go through life having a big mistake that no one pointed out. I would rather you criticize my work all the time than just compliment it.” 

She worked harder to get better at traditional art styles with mediums like pastels, water colors and acrylics. She learned to control her frustration and resisted the urge to finish a project quickly just to be done with it.  

“It really pushed me to challenge myself. Eventually, I realized I couldn’t keep pushing out stuff where I was rushing it because I don’t really like doing it,” she says. “I learned how to control the medium and not overwork the paper.” 

At Weaver she also learned sculpture and printmaking, which she discovered she enjoys. The creative learning environment there also made her feel supported. Barnes loves being around other creative people and especially enjoys the school’s regular talent showcases. She feels prepared for art school because of the demanding workload and the competitive aspect, which she says helped her get better. She had to step up her art game in order to distinguish herself from her peers.  

“The teachers here really care about us,” she says. “They encourage you and provide lots of opportunities to show your work.” 

“MaKya came to Weaver with passion, tenacity and grit,” says art teacher Kelsey Gagnon. “At a time when most students conform to her peers, she never let high school change her. While her ferocity came across strongly at the beginning, MaKya has grown significantly in her communication with peers and mentors in the art community.” 

Gagnon suspects that Barnes’ life experiences have made her stronger and wise beyond her years. 

“I would expect to see a student have a defeatist mentality or withdrawal from their interests,” she says. “With MaKya, however, she seems to have an awareness beyond her years of life and what can be accomplished.” 

Barnes wants to pursue a career in game design because it matches her art style and seems to be offer more job opportunities. MICA has a strong presence in the game design industry, offering a Game Design Studio Minor. San Francisco is a hub for the industry and Barnes wouldn’t mind the opportunity to return. 

“I think it would be cool for it to lead me back to San Francisco. It would be like a whole full circle moment,” she says.