Conversations with Saray Banuelas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Saray Banuelas.

Saray, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was always interested in art since I was little. Growing up it was always just a little hobby that any kid had, but once I got to high school I started to embrace that hobby into a potential career path. I wanted art as an elective in high school but sadly COVID interrupted my sequencing, so it was not until junior year where I finally got into an art class. My school wasn’t the best funded within our district and we didn’t have the best reputation in general. So, I was one of the few kids who actually contributed to the assignments and paid attention because I was interested in learning how to develop my skills. I was the teachers pet, I stayed in my world with my headphones on while doing my work and my teacher would always come and check on me. Sometimes when I’m ahead he would give me other assignments to try on my own. I began to love art that year and the following year (senior year) I had humanities, which combined AP art history and multicultural literature, which is where my decision on following through with a fine arts career path was finalized. I was in my element during this time I got to understand art and see how it developed and contributed to our history in general. At the same time I had a second art class and the new art teacher gave me similar treatment of aiding me in my creative exploration. Those three teachers all guided my decision of choosing art specifically my art history teacher, Mr. Littlefield. He gave me insight on SCAD and was one of the leading factors of why I chose to pursue a fine arts degree. Though he joked about the money expenses all the time he would reassure me about the advantages and positives I would gain by choosing SCAD. He even wrote my letter of recommendation so I appreciated him a lot during that time for actually helping me, not just decide my future, but aiding me in any kind of guidance needed. Now I am here at SCAD, an upcoming senior with a painting major alongside an art history and drawing minor.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I am someone who can adapt quickly to what’s come their way. I wouldn’t say there have been challenges besides the constant fear of failure. Because of the way I grew up I never minded a challenge. No matter how hard something was I never gave up. I was always taught to follow it through and as my dad would say “échale ganas” which meant to put in your best effort at whatever it is you’re doing. So, even though classes are tough I always managed to navigate through. However there was always a sense of hesitation in my mind since the beginning about whether I chose the right career or not. Because of the economy and the way of the world, the fine arts department can be unpredictable. There was constant fear of not being able to find a good job after college or if I was going to become one of those struggling artists. I was just so fixated on the after college life and the negative connotations society puts on fine artists. Also I am a child of immigrant parents who sacrificed their whole lives to create better opportunities for their kids. I am the middle child of 5 kids and so far am the only one in/completing college so there is immense pressure I put on myself that I need to prove that it was all worth something. When I first began at SCAD that thought was always at the back of my mind. “I’m the academic child and I chose to follow art school now what if it doesn’t work out?” The amount of times I would stay up late in bed just imagining any kind of scenario was crazy! However, I realized that the same hesitation that has been creeping in my mind is also my motivation. I know I have to do good and use my resources to make sure I create a stable future for myself. I think that is why I haven’t had much struggles with college or burn out because I learned to know my capabilities and that I can do this. I was raised to push forth and not to give up. Though the future is unpredictable all I can do is have confidence in my self, know my worth and face it all head on.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am currently in my third year at SCAD for a BFA in painting with a minor in art history and drawing. I am a Mexican American artist who pushes to represent my identity in my portfolio through the use of color, subject matter, composition or style. When I first began I was strictly an abstract painter with inspirations from abstract expression and geometric abstraction. Wassily Kandinsky was my main reference in how I approached meaning and form with rhythm in my compositions. Throughout my time at SCAD I developed this motion of uncovering cultural identity and representing the hybridity of being Mexican American. I think my style has undergone changes but there has been consistent elements throughout all my artworks even though they range from total abstract to referenced imagery. My color palette and rythmic compositions are the two areas I’m most proud in. I take influence from Mexican muralism for my color choices and Kandinsky for my rhythmic balance in compositions. I am experimenting with a lot of new ideas regarding my heritage like domestic spaces and textile patterns alongside using both oils and acrylic. I am still in a stage of developing my artistic practice. I believe this method of expressing my background through any kind of imagery sets me apart from other Mexican American artists, since we all go through different experiences I am strictly deriving my inspirations from my personal life and what I have experienced growing up being born and raised in America. As well as my academic understanding of composing a painting. I have been at SCAD for 3 years now so I have learned and understand everything the makes a painting work. My “squiggles” for example is something that I am known for and sets me different from other students here as well. Since I started in abstract techniques, it sort of creeped into my understanding and perspective of how to approach art. My “squiggles” are continuous lines that I would randomly create and build with shapes and colors to create a balanced composition. I follow through my intuition which is just my subconscious telling me “this works here” because after learning about the formal qualities, my hand just knows what belongs where. Even though I have been branching into more realistic works referencing real life objects I still keep that mindset when I make decisions. I use the illusion of detail and breaking down forms into shapes to manipulate the audience into recognizing the objects. As of now my brush marks, breakdown of forms and cultural themes are identifiers for my audience to know that I am present in a painting which can consist of many different subject matters from “squiggles” to domestic spaces.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is necessary in order for us to develop confidence in ourselves and be able to face challenges. It’s similar to the idea that you need to fail before you succeed. There is an always going to be problems in your life where you have to train yourself to not give up, and instead to fight it the best you can and get back on your feet. if we don’t take risk and jump into areas where we feel uncomfortable, how will we be able to network and put ourselves out in the world? If we stick to comfortability then we will never evolve. Now I am not a big risk taker I’ll admit however, I do love a challenge because whenever I try something new it doesn’t matter whether I’ll be the best at it right off the bat but it’s about the experience of learning something new. Choosing art school is probably the biggest risk I would have done, the outcome is unpredictable. Though my parents were more on par with something academic that would bring in good money I decided to chose my passion which was creating art. I was an academic kid with honors and good grades, I could’ve gone to an Ivy League school and chosen a higher paying profession however I didn’t want to stick to something that was comfortable and stable. Art was my passion. I joke around saying that I chose SCAD because I would rather pull all nighters and stress over art than over math or science. Because the fuel is no matter how hard it gets it will all contribute to my knowledge. I chose an arts program even though I didn’t know much but the curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to learn more. There’s a phrase I saw a while back that went along the line of, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Taking risks is all up to you but I think it is necessary for us as people to break away from our comfort zones and embrace the trials of life or else we’ll never evolve to our greatest potential.

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