It started the summer she hid in her basement, creating soft pastel drawings and acrylic paintings, soon enough lining the walls of her art studio.

She has that exotic artistic touch and craving for music, but it isn’t visible through her hockey mask. It’s explained through her pieces.

Her mother’s profession as an art teacher and lifelong hobby of figure skating influences her artwork.

Her father’s diverse taste of tunes influences her character.  

Naturally, passion flows through her.

Discovering the band Cage the Elephant a couple years ago increased her passion for art and music, as well as appreciation for them.

The bond between her and the band is more than just a girl who loves music. The emotion in lead singer Matt Shultz’s voice, the hidden meanings within the music and the different genres threaded throughout their sound and image tie her to the band, allowing her to connect.

Her connection transformed her into the individual she is today.

Her expressed love for their music by creating fanArt intensifies her fondness for them.  

But the admiration is not a one way street. Her artwork snagged Shultz’s eye while scrolling through their tumblr page. When he posted her colored pencil piece of himself, she was ecstatic.

Junior Gabriella Borbolla’s raw image of thoughts and feelings imprinted the band enough for them to ask if she was willing to feature one of her Cage the Elephant inspired paintings at their show in Nashville, Tenn. Unfortunately, Borbolla vacationed in Chicago during the confirmation deadline for the show and she was unable to attend.   

Although overjoyed from acknowledgment, satisfaction comes from knowing she made a modest influence on a group of people who helped shape the foundation of her life and artwork—which continues to line the walls of her art studio.