Meet Samantha
Samantha, who just went off to start college at Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD), has been a YACster since her freshman year at Monterey High. A fearless and multitalented artist, Samantha labels herself as “weird, compassionate, and patient.” For Samantha, YAC is a place that is “fun, supportive, and adventurous.”
Samantha’s first memory of making art was in an after school program in the second grade, when the teacher set up a still life of a teddy bear for the kids to draw. It was then that she learned how fun and relaxing making art could be, especially throughout the hectic time of her life when her family moved frequently. In the fourth grade Samantha won an art competition for a Cinco de Mayo themed drawing, and then in seventh grade she become friends with Lorena (see her YACster profile here), who introduced her to YAC! Today Samantha loves art just as much as she did growing up, and appreciates working in a wide variety of media ranging from graphic design and photography to painting and drawing. She characterizes her work as “random, interesting, and energetic,” and loves bringing her subject matter to life, whether it is a portrait, a musical instrument, or the YAC telephone talking to a post-it note.
Samantha’s top sources of inspiration are her friends and family, listening to music (a lot!), and “California in general.” Additionally, she finds encouragement in the success stories and the work of many animation artists including Brad Bird (the director of Ratatouille), Pete Doctor (the CEO of Pixar, who she once passed at Disneyland!), and Jennifer Lee (director and co-writer of Frozen, and the chief creative officer of Disney). Samantha’s other passions include playing the trumpet and web design.
YAC has been a huge motivator for Samantha to continue pursuing her art as a career. She remembers being very scared at her first YAC show because her art was so different from everyone else’s, but then she sold one of her pieces that night! One of Samantha’s proudest moments was when her painting was featured in the newspaper for an exhibit in Carmel. She says that the work of her fellow YACsters is a constant source of inspiration for her, and is grateful for the caring and supportive community that YAC imparts.
Samantha is going into LCAD majoring in illustration with an entertainment emphasis and minoring in animation and web development. Her goal is for her art to motivate kids to be fearless in art-making and in pursuing their dreams. In ten years she sees herself becoming an art director or web developer.
Find Samantha’s art online at instagram.com/artthetiics
