Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Amaro

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

Hello! I’m Sarah Amaro, an illustrator and writer from the Dominican Republic currently based in New York City. I recently graduated from Parsons School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. I came to my dream school as a transfer student from Chavon, the School of Design in Santo Domingo, where I got a scholarship that led me to this city. Since then, I haven’t stopped writing and designing books for myself and my clients. Currently I am illustrating an exciting picture book about the life of Rhina Espallait, written by my dear colleague Elizabeth Balaguer.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Oh no! As an international student, job opportunities have always been a matter of trying harder than everyone else. The art world is a very competitive one, so you have to show up constantly with new work in this fast-paced society. Sometimes it is very discouraging to hear many “no”, until you start hearing a couple of “yes”. I’ve come this far and I don’t think I have the option of giving up, so with resilience I will always try my best to improve my abilities and knock on the right doors.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I am a writer and illustrator, with a major interest in children’s books. My writing work ranges from poetry to short stories that have been awarded in national Dominican contests.
Now I am working as a freelance illustrator for picture books; one I did for Fundación Balaguer and the story of Rhina Espallait.
I always try to represent my Dominican heritage in my art; to express it is to promote the inclusivity of diverse cultures in the publishing world. I want the voices of my people to be heard and with honor, I will write and draw about them.
Soon, I want to publish dummies of picture books that I have been working on for the past couple of years.

How do you define success?

I define success as growth; the process that no one else sees but you. Success is the accumulation of failures that end up re-directing you to the main goal. It’s what you learn from failure.
Every day you become better when you realize that life is not what happened to you, but how you handle it; it’s refusing circumstances defining you, but you writing your own story. At the end, people will only celebrate you for the results, only you will be capable of actually appreciating how far you have gone amidst the challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarah3lixabeth.wixsite.com/bysarahamaro
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bysarahamaro/?hl=en