Senior Airman Tonesha Griffin, 8th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron bioenvironmental engineering journeyman, looks over digital images at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Feb. 26, 2024. Griffin studied graphic design and video production prior to joining the Air Force and uses it to enhance unit icons across organizations. (Staff Sgt. Jovan Banks, U.S. Air Force)
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Everybody has something they consider a passion. Whether it is sports, cooking, reading or just deep diving into a discussion, people will find the things they like. But for one member at the Wolf Pack, that passion is and has been since childhood, a passion for art.
Art has been something that Senior Airman Tonesha Griffin, 8th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron bioenvironmental engineering journeyman, has done since she was five years old. As a self-taught artist, she used images as guides to learn and heighten her skills, as well as create her forms of self-expression.
“My first love was traditional art, things like drawing and painting,” said Griffin. “As a kid, I would take images from coloring books and trace over them with a pen until I could eventually draw them free-handed.”
Throughout school Griffin continued to enhance her ability as an artist, taking classes and volunteering to create art when an opportunity arose.
“It was just one of those things that just became my thing,” said Griffin. “I would find myself being the creative person in the group projects.” As Griffin progressed she saw opportunities to use art as a means to build a career and decided to follow through by pursuing an art degree in college.
“Out of high school I wanted to be a cartoonist but an animation program was not offered where I lived, so I chose to learn digital media and that is where I learned video and design,” said Griffin.
“That is also where I really fell into graphic design and learned everything I could about it. “It was really fun to do traditional art but also craft them into designs.”
Joining the Air Force in 2021, Griffin now uses her knowledge of design and her passion for traditional art throughout her squadron and with other on-base organizations.
“At my last base, I became the resident public affairs and graphics person for my old squadron,” said Griffin. “Here, I’ve made some logos for the medical group, and also some flyers for Kunsan’s African American Heritage Committee.”
Griffin sees making designs while in the Air Force as a new challenge to face and overcome.
“It really is problem-solving,” said Griffin. “People come to me with ideas and ask if I can make something good from it. That is what I enjoy the most, the problem-solving.”
