Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Amaro.
Hi Sarah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! I’m Sarah Amaro, a Dominican illustrator and writer based in New York City. I came from Santo Domingo to Parsons School of Design to obtain my Bachelors of Fine Arts, and now I illustrate books as a freelance. I’m work as a Design assistant at Lehman for the Arts & Humanities Dean, and on the afternoons, I am currently a fine arts teacher for children at Upper West Side. At Lehman, I will pursue a Master’s of Fine Arts.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a beautiful, chaotic, painful ride; leaving home to improve your life is never easy. There’s this constant melancholy and remembrance of the life I had at Santo Domingo. Yet, New York has transformed me spiritually and artistically; I have changed a thousand times in a couple of years for the better and I could never been more grateful to be where I am right now.
Along the way, I found friends, people, projects that have given meaning to my skills. Currently I am working in the creation of children’s book for the Dominican Community in United States.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a writer and illustrator. I love to combine words with images; to see beyond a sentence and imagine a whole world out of it.
I have a keen interest in children’s books; recently a book that I illustrated “A Dominican Christmas Story” was published by the Dominican Writers Association; it was presented at United Palace New York; a city that is home to many Dominicans. The book has great success and it has inspired me to write more about Dominican people and traditions. I want to give visibility to my culture through the arts; I aim to shine light on their stories and give excellent representation of them.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If you never try it, you’ll never know.
I got here to this city because I applied to the Bluhdorn Scholarship at CHAVON Santo Domingo; I didn’t have any hopes that I was going to get selected for it. I was the last applicant(I barely applied one hour away from the due date), the last person that was interviewed, they almost forget about me because I didn’t reply to the zoom meeting in time.
Yet, I did it. With little faith.
And now I’m here, with the degree of my dreams, illustrating books and teaching in New York.
Sometimes the faith of the size of a mustard is enough to make it work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: bysarahamaro
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-amaro-092524234/
