We were lucky to catch up with Abriella Sammy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Abriella, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my piece in honour of Kobe Bryant. This was meaningful for me on both personal and business levels. To begin with the business side, I was approached by someone who was an entrepreneur who had an idea to work together on an art piece. The concept was one I was interested in as I love when collaborative ideas come together in a way that can benefit both parties and also provide a unique experience along the way. We wanted to create something that could be meaningful for both of us but at first we didn’t quite know what that was. As our brainstorming continued, the tragic death of Kobe Bryant occurred. The person I was working with on this project happened to be in LA at the time and was relaying to me the significance that this was having on that environment. For many reasons, we knew this was the right subject matter for our project.
On a personal level, I have been deeply influenced and impacted by Kobe Bryant for a large portion of my life. Ironically, there was a period of time I actually really disliked him because of the 81 points he dropped on my beloved Raptors. I learned as a kid that if you can respect the game of someone you would rather not like, they are not just good – they are great. Despite my broken heart, it was undeniable that he brought a skill set and talent to the game of basketball that was unmatched. As an avid basketball fan, watching Kobe play is a unique experience that has influenced so many. But all of that being said, what really sets him apart for me personally is his mindset. The mamba mentality has been something I look to for many reasons including how to stay focused, disciplined, and competitive. There are a lot of projects that I work on where I get defeated or run out of the original energy or enthusiasm I had. I often use things I learned from reading and hearing about Kobe’s work ethic to help me push through to the other side.

I can say hands down that this project is the one that I spent the most time on in terms of detail, precision, thought and layered components. It felt as if there were so many moving parts to this art piece that I really desired to bring together in one harmonious work. The person I was working with on the business side of this project allowed me to have full creative control over this entire design and I really leaned into that. I wanted this piece to have depth to try to scratch at the surface of some of the many things Kobe brought not just to the game but as a person as a whole.

I randomly found myself in a Karaoke bar in ChinaTown the night of Kobe’s death. I was standing in the lobby staring into space thinking about how strange the day had felt. I had been staring at a wall for a while when I realized the wall was decorated with fake snake skin. I knew that night I was going to make a black mamba art piece made from a real snake. The year prior I had been working in my first art studio which was in a shared space with woodworkers and people of various professions. I often worked overnight and there were a few others who followed a similar routine and we learned about each other’s crafts. One of these people came to my studio one night saying I don’t know what you would use this for, but I have a real anaconda snakeskin if you ever need it. I found his contact and asked him if he still had this anaconda and shortly after I was dying the snakeskin black and forming it into Kobe’s mamba logo.

Next was to decide which image of Kobe I was going to use. I spent days looking through pictures, watching highlights and discussing Kobe with friends, debating over what reference image to pick. There are so many iconic photographs of Kobe but my decision ended up being an image that I thought captured young Kobe. He still had hair, was wearing number 8 and was wearing Adidas Crazy 8 shoes. I wanted to go back to the beginning and build the story from there. I decided, with the assistance of my brother, that we would use this image’s silhouette as a storyteller to build on some of the aspects of his career and life. In the silhouette we hid “Easter eggs” of symbols and representations. On Kobe’s arm, an outline of Italy can be found depicting the love he had for this country since childhood. Just below, there is a “24” incorporating both of his iconic retired jerseys. His shooting arm leading towards his hand displays the outline of a black mamba snake about to attack as he drives the ball forward. Kobe’s daughter Gianna’s name is engraved into his right leg. On the same leg, the outlines of his shoe represent his 5 NBA Championships and his 2 NBA Finals MVP trophies. On his knee there is an outline of Germany representing where he went to get his knee surgeries and the effort and risks he put in to continue to play at his level for so long. The bottom of his left leg is hidden another esteemed accolade in the outline of an Oscar. This starts the transition from Kobe as a basketball player to his ability to master almost anything he attempted. This leads into the background which depicts specific words and lines from the poem from his screenplay “Dear Basketball” which he used to announce his retirement. The centre of the background displays Kobe the businessman through the formation of his “Mamba” company logo. To finish off the background, the bottom right corner displays a gold replica of his autograph from his retirement announcement to end this piece in the same manner he ended his own work of art. The silhouette was done in gold leaf which radiates in the light. The Lakers purple is made of resin as one of my signature styles of using wood and resin to create my portraits. This art piece was truly a labour of love.

There is a Kobe interview I watched where he was asked: “If you had to think of one quality that all the great ones have” and his instant response was: “It’s love. … The quality that we all share is that we love what we do. We absolutely love it. And it’s a pure love. … It’s loving what we do and we do it all the time, we study all the time. And as a result, the championships come.” Obviously he is talking about basketball players, but this mindset is applicable to anyone working within the realms of their passion. Although it can sound simple, I think a major component of this is you can fake “like” or “want”, but you cannot fake love. As Kobe said, it’s a pure love and anyone operating from there knows the difference. I think when you accept that this is a gift and a blessing to be able to work from that foundation, you are able to use this as an anchor to navigate everything else that also comes with it. This project really allowed me to tap into why I love doing what I do. The attention to detail, amount of physical labour it entailed and layers of components included are all meant to attest to the work ethic Kobe demanded from himself and encouraged towards those who learned from him. I think its important to pay tribute to those who have inspired and molded me and this art piece was my way of doing that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Abriella Sammy. I am born and raised in Toronto, Canada and I am from a mixed background of Trinidadian and Canadian decent. I am a multi-media visual artist who specializes in custom commissions and mural work for homes, businesses and basically anywhere or anything you could want to put paint on. I have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects from traditional canvases, to painting on buildings, cars, tables, basketballs, shoes, and helmets. I often work with acrylic, spray paint, resin and wood to make my pieces.

As a lover of sports I actively intertwine my passions and work on many sports related projects and initiatives. In my opinion, playing sports growing up taught me a lot of the fundamentals that I use in pursuing my art career in regards to confidence, leadership and determination. Athletes have provided so much inspiration for me, in both happy and very despair times of my life. I take a lot of pride in doing work that is fuelled or inspired by some of these stories and phenoms because I believe art is a beautiful vehicle to preserve these legacies. I have been blessed to work for the NBA, Detroit Pistons, MLSE, Baseball Canada, Mizuno, Indy500 events and have done work for people in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember. I was eagerly encouraged to create whenever and wherever possible. I remember my first set of “real artist” pencils gifted to me by my aunt when I was a child. I had finally found this tool that I could use to access the things running through my mind. Drawing at that point wasn’t something I thought about, it was just something I did. It was effortless happiness. Things drastically shift when you turn a passion into a profession but one thing that remains the same from the beginning is the intent. In each creation, there exists a strong-willed desire to give something uniquely from myself that will touch someone.

My path to get to where I am today was not a straight forward one. I actually dropped out of art school and did not touch a paintbrush for years. During this time, I learned that you can’t avoid being your true self, no matter how much you try to compress it. After going through a deep personal battle in 2017 I was forced to look at the realities of what was important to me, and not the idealizations of what would be convenient. I started painting again because daily life didn’t make sense anymore, but creating did. Quite frankly it was the only thing at that time that did make any sense. I sketched, painted, poured and molded until I wasn’t thinking about anything else but embracing the freedom and wholeness of creation. I learned you can find ways to dilute your passion, but you cannot run from yourself or your purpose.

At the end of the day, I got into my industry by honestly waking up and deciding this was something I was going to do. I did not have any understanding at the time of what I was trying to undertake, but I did have an overwhelming determination to put on an art show. I realized I wasn’t going to let me talk myself out of this goal despite many logical reasons as to why I was unprepared to do this. Since my first art show in 2018, I have been doing custom commissions of artwork, murals and design for clients. I think people come to me for a personal experience where they are able to take their vision, that they may not even fully grasp, and we get to explore it together and turn it into something tangible.

I work in many different mediums, styles and subject matters, but something that is often a common theme is it is a client’s first time doing this and trying to turn thoughts, ideas and visions into something feel they want or even need. Going through this process can often become a very vulnerable experience. I have had the pleasure of working with wildly successful people who are extremely well versed in what they do, and I have seen them have to step out of their comfort zone of experience or talent and explore something entirely new to them. I think the beauty of this job that was unexpected to me was having the ability to take someone through that process. It can be a therapeutic or cathartic experience to see the transition from mere words into something that people feel is a physical representation that is impactful or meaningful to them. I’ve learned so much about the depth of people through things as simple as painting their dog or as significant as painting in memory of a loved one. I find people often default to the thought that they are “not artistic” but when you really get into it or allow creative thought to flow, many people have deep artistic natures to them that they find gratifying to get out and be able to express. To me, completion of a project feels successful if in the end, the client has pride in knowing this was as much their project as it is mine. In going through my own personal struggles and turning to art as my healing source, I know just how powerful creation can be. This is not limited to the people making it, but also the people viewing it, owning it or interacting with it.

I heard a quote that resonated for me in all parts of this creative journey that I’m on, “the opposite of depression isn’t happiness. It’s expression.” I believe through making and providing art I can facilitate my own forms of expression but also attempt to help others in understanding and expressing themselves as well.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing my work make a positive impact on a person or community. I don’t mean this in a metaphorical sense, but a very literal one. I worked on a project in San Fransisco, California in an area that historically has been prone to a lot of violence and crime. That project really woke me up in terms of not only where art as a career can take me but also where I can take my efforts and have them produce real change. I would have never been in that city if I wasn’t providing that service, and it made me realize I wouldn’t be in a lot of rooms or spaces if I wasn’t doing this particular thing. My art has become a channel that takes me into environments I wouldn’t get to without it. I did an entire job in a men’s basketball locker room, a space that a female would literally not be invited into. I’ve painted on properties of significant buildings that I would not be able to touch if I were not an artist. I’ve presented work to athletes and organizations I would never have access to on a personal level.

So firstly, recognizing that my art is the reason I have access to these places and environments is a reward in itself. But if we take it one step further, if you are able to ask yourself “what am I going to do with this access and how am I going to positively impact this space for the people that interact with it?”. Once I got to that question, I realized that is a whole new reward. Circling back to the San Fransisco project, I took on the opportunity because I had a goal of renovating a basketball court and this was my first job offer to accomplish that. The custom court designer and hardwood floor expert Luis Perez graciously brought me onto this project, an opportunity I did not take lightly. The original ask was for me to complete one mural in the gym while a basketball court was being refinished. What ended up happening is together we underwent an entire renovation of the gym. This included renovating the hardwood floor, painting a unique court design in the school colours with the school logo, 2 complete murals and we cleaned and repainted all of the walls of the gym even the handrails and the baseboard. The difference between the original ask of the job requirements and the end product boils down to the impact you want to leave. Obviously this is not possible in every situation, but the beauty I’ve found in a lot of my projects is extra effort is often directly rewarded with a very tangible positive impact. Often that will provide me with substantial reason to do something.

In this situation, when we arrived at the school I quickly realized I hadn’t considered anything other than just physically painting the mural. What I had failed to account for was the experience we would have being at this school day and night for 3 weeks. We had to pass through gates and security just to get into the property which was very different than my high school experience. I had a choice to make at that time as to if I was going to be fearful of the things outside of my comfort zone or if I was going to lean in. On the first day we met the principal and some of the staff and that made my decision to go all in, an easy one. I learned so much that day about the community, the history and how the people there have been impacted by crime, politics and race. I feel they were able to open up to us and also invest that time into educating us because we had the tools to turn this information into something that could actually help the students. The principal used extra energy to emphasize why understanding this history is important to the art we choose to make here and even recommended a documentary on the city’s past so I could understand this further. I spent days of my time there researching and asking questions to the teachers and people from that area before any art was actually done. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard on anything in my life. We practically lived in that gym for 21 straight days. The reveal of the new gym involved a well-known NBA player from a team in the surrounding area, and Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Buffalo Wild Wing provided all the food. Seeing the students so excited for chicken wings and basketball was such a beautiful thing. But their reactions to the court and having a new space specifically crafted for them was an experience I cannot articulate with words. Safe spaces are so incredibly important in any community, but especially those that have a history of crime and violence. Through our art and our tools we were able to provide a space for community and youth to grow, connect, play and compete. If I were not an artist, I would have not been able to experience this, or offer what I was able to in this situation and others like it.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal that fuels my creative journey would definitely be to know I did right by my parents for all of their sacrifices and efforts. I was blessed with two loving and creative parents who encouraged all five of their children to pursue their interests and skills with great enthusiasm and wonder. Our house growing up was full of playing sports, games, music and somewhere in there I was drawing or pretending I was Neil from Art Attack making something with PVA glue.

My dad is a talented musician well versed in several instruments. I would wake up many mornings to the sound of him playing piano or learning a song on his guitar by ear. I think when people around you are constantly creating you are encouraged to do the same, but it also fosters an understanding of how important it is to keep this energy alive because of how it feeds you. You are also shown that on the path of growing older, the decision to continue to do these pursuits has to be an intentional one and usually goes against the callings of a structured life.

Early on when I started doing art professionally, I was severely stuck in the middle of my biggest commission to date and needed help going to view a reference item. My dad drove me 3 hours each way, in traffic, to help me with this – no questions asked. I remember sitting in the car feeling guilty and completely drained when my dad said “not everyone can see what you see. You have to keep going.” In those moments when imposter syndrome hits, or in those seasons of doubt, I often end up back at that conversation. There’s someone out there who might need your vision to help them see theirs. My dad has never once wavered in his support of my art and my creative journey despite many logical reasons for him to do so. With his hands and time, he helped me build the table in my studio, the shelving for my paints and tools and helped with the wooden parts of many of my pieces. My dad is a large reason why I strive to continue to work in this field and try to take it as far as it can go for me.

As children, my mom had us make our gifts often, whether it was for our teachers, our Gramma or our family. It seemed like I was always painting some candle or plate with the seasonal imagery. It is interesting how I used to be somewhat embarrassed of this growing up, wondering why we couldn’t just buy presents but looking back in hindsight, my best creative education came from my mother teaching me how to do these simple crafts. The ability to see something ordinary and also see what you can turn it into with a little bit of effort and planning is something that was taught to me at a very young age.
My mom got sick when I was 11 and I remember trying to use art as somewhat of a silent offering to ease the pain that we were watching take over her body because I did not know what else to do. I drew to both remember and to forget. It became a way to carry my mom with me, so it wasn’t really a choice – just a state of being. During that time, I continued to draw her presence into the places she could no longer be. When she could not make it to the beach because the cancer was spreading and taking away her ability to move, I drew the seashells I found that day and stuck sand from the beach on the paper and brought it to her bedside. I don’t actually know if this mattered or honestly if she was even able to see this or care about something so insignificant during such a significant time, but I do know that I learned of art’s ability to communicate in ways bigger than words and bigger than people. And I do know that although my pain has subsided, many people are currently living with pain or grief or even love and happiness or success and gratitude that is so big and so substantial that only art forms can contain the magnitude. Sometimes I feel artists are given the privilege to be a translator between thought and vision. I know with certainty that this is one reason why art – and artists – are necessary and why people who are called to this life should not give up on it.

Although this career choice is a life of constant uncertainty and many lows, my parents deserve the same amount of effort that they put into pushing us to be creative, independent thinkers and share our skills and until I can say I have given all I can in that regard, the job is not finished.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abriellasammyart.com
• Instagram: @abriellasammy
• Other: https://www.saatchiart.com/en-es/abriellasammy

Image Credits
Tre McCalla Ryan McKinnon-Mori Kiran Chooti