Meet Samara Ash | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Samara Ash and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samara, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Many of us have either emigrated to this country ourselves or heard of others that took a leap of faith and left their homeland behind seeking a better future. I came to the US as a young girl with a lot of dreams motivated by a better “something”; a notion I didn’t really understand, due to my tender age. I knew that my family did not have any money nor any resources but I was aware that we were looking for better opportunities. Upon arrival to Miami, I soon noticed that I had not come to visit but rather to stay indefinitely.

I didn’t have any family in this city and did not know anyone. Scarce resources, slim economic funds, and zero english; I quickly understood that I needed to become great at something since all odds were against me: a poor latin immigrant girl. But, ‘what was I good at?’ Rightly so, a difficult question to answer at 9 years old. A couple of years later, at school there was an assignment to enter a mandatory painting contest and I followed the assignment by painting three birds, a butterfly, and the moon… I called the piece “Birds in My Dreams” and wrote in the back sentences that a teacher helped me to translate to english “Birds are like the wind flying through the mountains and the rivers. They rest on the trees to feel the light of the moon. The Birds in my dream give me a feeling of freedom and tranquility.”

I ended up winning an award for that work! I was happy about my accomplishment but didn’t think much of it, until my art teacher approached me and told me those keywords “You’re great! You are really good at painting.” The day I heard that, I knew I had found something that I could hold on to and possibly succeed at. Ever since that day, I have not stopped making some kind of art form. Art creation has helped me to work on my persona striving to become the best version of myself I can, it has introduced me to incredibly passionate people, it has given me the opportunity to travel through many countries, it has helped me to economically sustain myself & and, most importantly, it has inspired others to make art or admire it or just flat-out fall in love with art themselves. As I look back, I could not have done this any other way… the road has not been easy, but, I feel blessed.

After all, art did give me that ‘feeling of freedom and tranquility.”

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For my personal fine art work, I create work that researches power & frailty as a subject matter. I’m interested in portraying the effects of these notions in people’s mental, spiritual, and social development. Working with symbols & subjects (material wealth, political agendas, nature, spiritual beliefs, & more) that embody the capacity to impact our behavior, I paint, sculpt, or photograph their influences over human beings. Frailty comes into play once we allow our weaknesses (greed, complacency, laziness, selfishness, etc) to direct our actions, often taking over the self. Power comes into force full circle as we also have free will to choose what actually plays a pivotal role in our lives and how we can inspire one another to evolve.

Years of exposure in the art world have allowed me to hold positions in various sectors of art as art director, art advisor, & project manager, experiences that led me to establish SAS in order to help others -people & companies alike- with their specific art needs. Samara Ash Studio is an art consultancy studio that works on creative bespoke concepts & production of paintings, hand-painted murals, sculptures, and photography. The idea behind SAS is for clients to have affordable, easy-access to breathtaking one-of-a-kind custom art in all aspects of their life. Every art project with its patron is important to me no matter its background or previous knowledge of the subject. The roadmap for this journey has been set by a desire to amplify the best in every person partaking in these ventures. Providing superb customer service, listening to my clients, and giving them sincere feedback is ultimately creating memories that customers can recall upon turning them into loyal supporters.

There is a lot of trial and error involved when working in your own small business but there are a few things that, in my opinion, have made me very successful… consistency is key, dedication is a must, don’t compare yourself to anyone, but, certainly be inspired by others. Be yourself at all times, and always try to outdo the best version of yourself today so that you can be better tomorrow. In the long run… whole heartedly do what you love and the rest will follow.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Miami is known for many things… its vibrant nightlife, for being considered the Cruise Capital of the World, for its beaches, for its flourishing music scene, for it’s cuban coffee a.k.a “Cafecito,” and for much much more.

If my best friend was in town, I would take her on a full day trip on the water.
In the early morning, I would drive to the Parrot Jungle & launch a vintage Boston Whaler from Watson Island Boat Ramp into the water. From there, we would head to Pace Picnic Island for a short dip into the ocean, hop northward towards Pelican Island to bird watch & take pictures of wildlife, then head to Shuckers, an American Seafood Shack, for a quick snack on the water… maybe have some mussels and fish tacos with a cold beverage.

After, we would head back south -whilst admiring the Miami Bay- and do a quick visual tour of the outside of the architectural beauties found on Star Island. Without a pit stop, we would get back on the main channel and continue south past the iconic American Airlines, past Bayside Marketplace, and make a right onto the Miami River – still a foreign trade hub with the Caribbean.

We would then go under a few elegant bridges and cross multiple giant contemporary structures, buildings that have redesigned our Miami Skyline. On our journey up the River, the sun would begin to set on the west and we would stop for dinner at Casablanca’s for some fresh oysters, ginger sesame soy tuna tartar, crispy tostones with ropa vieja “shredded beef” &, as a final dish, feast on local Florida Stone Crabs with tangy mustard.

Hopping back on the boat, we would continue up the River for a bit and then turn around as the night would begin to fall & nightlife would rise. Heading back to the ramp, our point of origin, our boat would glide past the scenery now covered with radiant fluorescent neon lights adorning booming restaurants, glimmering on the water, and embellishing a myriad of skyrises.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I couldn’t not have done anything in life without the support & guidance from the Creator.

Now when speaking about people…

You know that person that always knows what to say to get under your skin? The one that digs deeper to make you think and question the essence of your thoughts; sometimes pushing you to the point where you become unsettled and you don’t want to hear it anymore? Well that person is Jack Marin. Definitely, the one being that rocks my core and ultimately, pushes me to take my ideas to higher levels. He is a critical thinker good at detaching himself from situations to approach concepts in a logical manner inspiring me to become more practical; a very good balance when the overly-passionate-artist in me is always striving to romanticize & complicate everything.

Website: www.samaraash.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artsamaraash/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samaraash/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LSamaraAsh

Other: https://www.instagram.com/samaraashstudio/?hl=en

Image Credits
Tomas Heslop