In 2000, Colette Raptosh (me) was born in the Chinese Province of Jiangsu in Nanjing. At 9 months my mom (Diane Raptosh) adopted me and brought back to the States where she was raised me in Boise, Idaho. Growing up in a predominantly white state, I grew up learning the importance of accepting my differences and loving others for what they can and can not be. Constantly being the only one who looked like myself, I grew up more inside my head than in reality. When I was younger, I used fashion as a means to express myself and first started in fashion by making duct tape shoes and clothing. I see art as a way of expressing how my brain works and to say something with out having to speak. My mom saw my passion for art at a young age and enlisted me in art classes at the local Boise Art Museum. My dad (Cort Conley) also saw my passion growing for the arts and encouraged me to submit artwork in local competitions like the Idaho Western Fair. He also signed me up for my first sewing lessons as a child.
As I grew up, my passion for fashion, specifically sewing, grew as well. In result, I started my own dress making company called Colette Designs in 2014. Over the course of my high school career, I sewed over 60 custom dresses for weddings, proms, pageants, and homecomings. While taking sewing lessons at Sew Boise, I was able to participate in the annual student fashion shows. I also dabbled in photography and got a job the summer of 2017 working as the Camp Photographer for the YMCA camp at Horsethief Reservoir. Every week I took hundreds of photos for the camp’s advertising and the parents' purchasing. I attended Capital High School and participated in the school's art club and had work in two of the school’s student art shows. During my senior year of high school, I had work accepted into the “High School Emerging Artists 8th Juried Exhibition” at Boise’s Art Source Gallery and sold my first painting.
Throughout high school I also ran a student civil action group called People for Unity that put on local and statewide events such as the Women’s March on Idaho 2017, the Enough is Enough Student walkout 2018, and the Kibrom's Ethiopian & Eritrean Food Support Event and Fundraiser. My physical identity and the demographics of where I was raised significantly influenced my mindset, artistic vision, and personal journey. I struggle with ideals of beauty which is almost too obvious and sad looking back at my high school portfolio. My life experiences have cultivated who I am and the work I produce today. In May of 2022, I graduated from the College of Idaho with a B.A. in Art and Design and minors in Political Economy and Geosciences. Now I am graduated and who knows what I’ll do. I hope its cool…
colette.raptosh@gmail.com
@coletteraptosh