We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samantha Anderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
There are plenty of times where I ask myself this question. To put plainly though, I am much better off as an artist on my own! Every time I’ve thought about this, I just have to think back to when I worked at a movie theater or even at the San Diego Zoo as an artist. With all of the time it took to travel back and forth, the extra gas money it took, and even simply getting scheduled when you didn’t want to work, were sick, or needed to get off but couldn’t, it’s so nice knowing these things are not a hassle anymore. Not only do I get to set my own schedule, but I also get to work whenever I want or need to. This is very important to my as a mom of 3. Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t occasionally struggle to find time to work, as I am a stay at home mom, but if I relied on a regular job for my creative outlet, I would not be able to do it since I also want to cherish this time I have with my young and growing family. Being able to create at home, rather than have a regular job, allows me to prioritize better and get things done. I love being a teacher. Sharing my art with others and inspiring them to create is so rewarding and getting to call that my job is the BEST! I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Samantha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started doing a variety of art at a very young age and continued it throughout high school. In Jr. High, I was introduced to a new passion of musical theater which consisted of acting, song, and dance; all different types of art and expression. When I enrolled in college, I pursued theater as well as continuing in my other passions. In 2015, I graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a Bachelors in Theatre Art accompanied by a Minor in Art with Concentrations in Ceramics. I then moved to San Diego and was hired by Kaman’s Art Shoppes at the San Diego Zoo where I fell in love with more art! Face Painting, Henna Tattoos, and Glitter Tattoos. I later self-taught myself Balloon Twisting and hope to add more services soon! Pre-pandemic I provided private and group art instruction, created personalized projects, and worked private, company events and festivals as a face painter, henna and glitter tattoo artist, and a balloon artist. Along with this, I also taught group painting classes at the Brew Coffee Spot in La Mesa! (All of which I hope to resume after the Pandemic is over.) For now, I am currently a fully online painting instructor providing online classes for FREE on Youtube as well as more in depth monthly classes via Patreon, as well as privately through zoom. I absolutely love what I do and how I get to share these passions I have for art!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
As many of you know, Covid has had a lasting impact on many lines of work. One of those lines was mine. As a face painter, henna and glitter tattoo artist, balloon twister and art teacher, my line of work is centered on gatherings, parties, events, and large, public festivals! All of which came to a screeching halt once the pandemic began. For the first few months I was lost, confused, and unsure of what to do. I knew I still wanted to continue in art, but how? How was I supposed to continue doing something I loved that was now considered dangerous to others and put my high risk daughter in harm’s way? This is where the idea of online classes and Youtube came into play! I had never really done Youtube before as an artist and I knew I wasn’t set up for it, but my husband quickly resolved that by buying the necessary equipment to make teaching online a reality. Because of this, and almost 2 years of work, I nowhave over 11k Facebook followers (where I first started going live to teach) and over 5.5k subscribers on Youtube. I now enjoy painting every week with hundreds of people all over the world!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
In the line of work I’m currently doing, that being online painting instruction, one of the most rewarding things I’ve come across has been knowing that I’m helping people. And I’m not just speaking of people “learning art” but rather helping people heal. I’ve had a few handfuls of people speak up and tell me how my classes and teachings have helped them overcome depression and suicide. (I’m tearing up just thinking about it!) It’s amazing to me to think that something as simple as this, providing teachings of my artwork and being creative, could have such an impact on other’s lives such as this. I am truly grateful for the opportunity and I’m thankful it has been such a positive experience for so many people!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.SamanthaAndersonArtist.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/SamanthaAndersonArtistSD
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaAndersonArtist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/SamanthaAndersonArtist
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/samantha-anderson-artist-san-diego
- Other: https://www.Patreon.com/SamanthaAndersonArtist