Today, we’d like to introduce you to Saidy Gabriela Burch.
Hi Saidy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I can’t remember a time when the arts were not in some way a part of my life.
From elementary school, I always had to be creating something–drawing, composing, writing stories, making up languages–and sharing it with others. In that sense, nothing has changed. Creative expression is and always will be at the core of my functioning.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Artistically, I’d say the biggest struggle was moving past my notion of what “real” art was. Since first developing an interest in drawing in elementary school, I’d been obsessed with drawing exclusively in a realistic style (or, as close to that as my grade school hands could get, which wasn’t very far. I recall a specific instance in which my uncle looked at my drawing of a dragon and asked if it was a horse).
I think among many non-artists, what is seen as the most impressive and difficult feat is making photorealistic art. As someone who was always fiercely competitive, I was determined to achieve what I saw as the most challenging and, thus, “highest form” of art. It took a long time for me to be able to separate myself from that way of thinking. Still, eventually, I realized that tying myself to realism was horrendously restrictive on my creative expression.
I was less an artist and more an aspiring photocopy machine. These more recent years of emotional and stylistic exploration have entirely renewed my understanding of personal artistic expression.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
Today, I feel there’s a permeating narrative of prioritizing specialization over exploration when it comes to a person’s interests, with the underlying idea being that having many interests will make you mediocre at best at all of them. I have been told this many times, and I completely disagree.
I am fascinated by visual arts, music, language arts, mathematics, foreign language learning, and so many other things, and I firmly believe diversified interests inform each other. My studies of non-visual arts subjects have had a major impact on my work and, in fact, are one of the primary driving forces behind it. I want to use art to illustrate the intelligently designed world in which we live and the inherent interconnectedness of all things.
Math is not poetry, poetry is not math, yet poetry is poetry, and poetry is math! All the wonderful areas of study–mathematics, literature, music, visual art, etc.–are all equally valuable tinted glasses through which we observe, admire, and discuss an underlying shared reality.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk-taking is one of the most important parts of being an effective artist. On a small scale, an artist takes risks every time they touch pencil to paper. Some might say that’s not a risk–you can always throw the paper out. That’s true, you can.
But it’s indisputable that contending with your emotions takes courage, which most artists seek to do. Creating something–even if it’ll lie forever under your desk or in the corner of your room, never to be seen by another–is a form of bravery. In a more pragmatic sense, risk-taking is equally as important when it comes to operating as an artistic professional.
Sometimes, it feels a bit anti-statistical how the greatest opportunities may come from what are essentially cold calls. If an opportunity interests you, but you think there’s no way you’ll be selected or admitted–go for it!
Contact Info:
- Email: stargazingrainstorms@gmail.com
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- Twitter: https://twitter.com/StargazingRain
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stargazingrainstorms
Image Credits
Chey Runner
