3 minute read
Claudia Salazar | The Artisan
Presented by York Academy Regional Charter School
BY KATIE MAHONEY | CHIEF MARKETING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
“I’ve been an introvert all my life,” shares Claudia Salazar “I’ve just opened up the past couple of years.” Viewing her vibrant and bright artwork, you’d never know that Claudia was once a shy, isolated person, coping with past trauma.
A self-taught artist, Claudia’s family is from Lima, Peru, where she lived until age two. Her middle school and high school art classes sparked her love of art, but she was always creative as a child.
“Art was always with me,” she shares, even though she put it on pause when she became a mother at age 18 and dedicated her time to her son and two daughters, whom she raised as a single mother, gaining strength from her own single mother. “Art has been my healing and self-therapy,” she adds.
Claudia used art to heal as a survivor of child sexual abuse, and domestic abuse, both of which she advocates heavily for now. “Creating something beautiful, from trauma, is my inspiration. My art is very vibrant, very colorful, like an urban pop art. People wouldn’t even know what I went through in life. You can convert pain into beautiful things.”
Claudia’s resiliency led her to open her first art shop in Downtown York at DesignBots in 2019, which thrived until the pandemic paused success. “That whole year, I received so much support from the community. On First Friday, so many people would walk in. I was overwhelmed by love and support,” she shares. Being present at events, Claudia’s goal is to be part of Art Basel, the largest art show on the East Coast. She and her team were accepted into Wynwood, a runner-up to Art Basel, in 2022.
Earlier this year, Claudia was invited to the Governor’s Residence for Hispanic Heritage Month and to display her work at the Capitol Rotunda during the Pennsylvania Latino Convention.
It's not just the local community that recognizes Claudia’s talent. Her recent sneaker design went viral on TikTok, with almost 400 views, spurring 200 orders almost immediately. Each order takes three days to create and is a hand-painted original. In a male-dominated industry, Claudia’s apparel has been worn by local musicians including Kwame Katana, as well as a Grammy-nominated rap artist.
As for her future goals, Art Basel 2023 is top of the list, along with opening her own studio in the future. “For the community that has supported me from day 1, I want to give back,” she shares. And she means it – having taught a Mural Camp last Summer at DreamWrights.
She pauses when asked what it takes to be a Changemaker, “That is a tough question! I hope I have inspired other creators so that you can create sustainable income with your business, doing what you love. Art is what I love and I took a leap of faith. I quieted my own fears,” she states.
