We recently connected with Sabrina Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sabrina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When it comes to taking a risk, in regards to my art, I would say the biggest risk I have taken was starting a Youtube channel. I have never been shy about sharing my art, posting pictures online or doing shows in coffee shops, but I always let the art stand on its own and never really put myself out there as the artist. However, in 2020 when the world shut down, while I was still working, there was very little I could do outside of that and so, like many people, I stayed in and binged tv. More specifically, I started to binge artists on Youtube. I loved not only getting to see the creative process and the problem solving involved, but also getting to learn about the artist creating the work, and slowly I began to wonder if it was something I could do. Finally, in the summer of 2020 I made a gown based off Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night and filmed the process. I figured, even if I decided not to share it, it couldn’t hurt to film it. However, fear started to kick in, was I ready to put myself out there in such a public way? Where people would not only be judging my art, but also me, my looks, how I spoke, if I was interesting and so on. So instead of going for it, I sat with the idea while I continued making art and filming the process, just incase I decided I did want to start a channel. Then finally, my curiosity outweighed my fear and in December of 2020 I posted my first video. While scary at the time, it is now the thing I am most proud of, not only have I been able to put myself and my work out there and connect with others, but it also has helped me to stay more consistent with my art and push me to try more complicated projects and new mediums.

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

Art has been my passion from a very young age and as a result I have explored just about every medium I can get my hands on. In college I studied fine arts and animation where I focused on ceramics, painting, graphic design and 3d animation. Later on I went back to school for special effects makeup, focusing on creating prosthetic appliances as well as props. All of this has lead to what I do now. For my main line of work I am a prosthetic technician, which means I make functional prosthetics for amputees and limb deficient individuals. In addition, I do commission work, mainly painting pet portraits and run my Youtube channel which gives me the opportunity to explore all my other creative outlets. Lately, the work I focus on on my channel has consisted of creating fashion pieces using unconventional materials.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding thing about being an artist is the journey of turning a random thought into a tangible thing. I love when I get a ridiculous idea like, “make a dress out of origami cranes” and then go, “wait, could I actually do that?” Then the creativity starts; What could it look like? What materials would I need to use? Do I have all the skills required to make this a reality or will I have to learn new techniques? Then, once I get going, there are always problems that have to be solved, maybe a material doesn’t work as planned, or the ideal tool is too expensive so I have to come up with an alternative. All of this is what keeps me coming back and constantly wanting to create. It’s amazing once you get through all the planning and the trials and tribulations and come to a final piece that never would have existed had you not stuck it out and made it a reality.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think at this point there are three main things that drive me in my artistic journey. One, is to keep pushing myself, because you never know what you can accomplish until you try. Two, is to have fun, because I think as we get older so much of what we do and accomplish is stuff we are required to do such as, go to work, cook, clean, do laundry, and so on, and I think it’s important to be able to work on things that aren’t just to maintain our lives, but to enrich them. The final thing that drives me is the chance that I might inspire others. I hope that by me putting myself and my art out there others get the courage to do the same. I love when people watch one of my videos and then make their own version and share it with me, or when they see a technique in one of my videos they were unfamiliar with and say it will help them with a project they want to make. The ability to connect in that way is truly amazing. I have so many artists over the years who have inspired me so I really hope I can do that for others.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinaskullyfx/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrinaskullyfx/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SabrinaSkullyFX

Image Credits
photo credit: Nathan Tucker on the first photo. Nathan Tucker cocreator on table photo.