Painting with a purpose

Maria Sada’s passion for art gives her a creative outlet to express worldly issues and tell her own story

BY MAYA SHAH, STAFF WRITER

Senior Maria Sada uses her emotions to fuel her artistic abilities to create compelling artwork with deeper meanings. As an artist using numerous mediums, Sada’s art ranges from charcoal to digital illustrations as she depicts glimpses of her reality.

Although the subject matter differs from piece to piece, Sada likes to create images that resonate with her experiences and current emotional state. She feels that this process is a therapeutic way to express personal feelings and perspectives. Art offers an outlet with total autonomy which is one reason she is so drawn to it.

“Many people only view art successfully when it is for marketing and not so much when someone is an independent artist,” Sada said. “But, you are able to express yourself in ways that are so personal and make connections that others may have also experienced.”

Sada’s influences stem from international cultures and social issues as well. When she was younger, she lived in Shanghai and Hong Kong which allowed her to be immersed in a lifestyle different from the one she leads in the US. Acknowledging that many philosophies and religious elements are often unaccredited in Western film, Sada highlights the hidden beauty of East Asian cultures for everyone to see. She draws her inspiration from the resonance of tradition in East Asian culture.

Many of her subjects are seen wearing traditional outfits like deels with delicate embroideries that accent the influence of tradition despite modern touches.

Social standards and injustices also heavily influence her work as she uses her art to address such issues and spark a positive change. For Sada, it's important that her art allows others who go through similar obstacles to feel some solace in their everyday toils and see their situations in a better light.

In her piece titled “An Apple,” she drew a colorful scene of a same-sex couple kissing with a snake around them to represent self conflicts between religious beliefs and sexual orientation.

“I think it’s important to include your daily realities in your artistic expressions,” Sada said.

Sada often uses struggles of femininity throughout history to inspire her art. Her AP Art portfolio reflects how only being viewed as a vessel for bearing children can impact a woman’s demeanor. One piece called “Dried Milk” portrays women as cattle to allude to the fact that often women feel like their bodies are not their own.

“[“Dried Milk”] [is about] when the woman gives so much of her body and self that she shrivels from constantly being degraded of true worth,” Sada said.

Sada feels her bond with students at the school have made her more comfortable with herself and her expressions through art.

“Many times [Sada’s artwork] brings light to uncomfortable topics [...] they stir many emotions from pride to pity to disdain,” senior Carla Aragon said.

Aragon has noticed the correlation between Sada’s personal development and her progress in her art. When they first met, Aragon recalls usually only seeing her art in the form of sketches and is now proud of her friend’s finished pieces that speak volumes with both their depth and color schemes.

In hopes of truly pursuing her passion, Sada aspires to begin creating graphics and storylines for horror video games. As a video game creator, she would not have a creative limit and would be able to simulate environments where her art comes to life.

The idea of taking innocent things like dreams and then broadening them to a more sinister plotline is one theme she would like to explore in her games. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Witcher and Little Nightmares are some of the games that have helped inspire her art.

While Sada acknowledges that there are many pressures to designing art that will gain more attention, she hopes her personal growth will align with her artistic development as she enters adulthood.