Spectacular Adventures and Musings S.A.M.

Samrudh Prasanna / samrudh.prasanna@gmail.com

Art has been in my life since the time I discovered my tiny fingers. I felt the energy and excitement as I clenched my first Crayola, ready to make my mark on the world. As Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” The spirit of art continued to grow as I did. The juvenile shoe drawings I created were the origins of my love for design. My favorite was the Air Jordan 3 in a new colorway that I called the RFT—Ready for Takeoff. I excitedly sent the drawings to Nike, complete with tons of hidden details, like the velcro Nike Swoosh on either side of the shoe that opened up to mimic plane wings and an airplane runway on the sole. Nike responded—not with a million-dollar contract or a job application, but something much more valuable: encouragement. That sparked the fire and built my confidence. 

I slowly started to explore beyond drawing shoes. I began pushing the boundaries of my creations, which kept the artist in me alive. Not just alive but thriving. 

A piece of paper and a sharp pencil became my constant companions and tools for capturing my many perspectives and shaping my evolution as an artist. I began spending more time appreciating the process of creating art. I explored other forms of artistic expression, like music, to learn and gain inspiration. Every time I set a vinyl record on a turntable, I experienced the way in which music affected listeners through melodies and lyrics that resonated with their lives. I realized how an artist’s influence is an integral part of an artistic legacy. I was energized and decided to start creating with the purpose of designing for long-term impact. 

I began viewing problems as opportunities to create something groundbreaking. I made a Rube Goldberg machine that spilled water on me to solve the problem of not waking up on time. A string with pulleys allowed me to turn off the lights on the other side of my room once I was comfortably in bed. Using the concepts of industrial design I learned at a college design camp, I created a prototype of a clothes hanger for differently-abled people who only had the use of one arm. My design thinking process started with me choosing to spend a day using only one arm to truly understand how difficult it can be for someone with this disability to perform simple daily tasks. I also built unique 3D dioramas to depict and celebrate my Indian holiday, The Festival of Lights, for my family’s enjoyment. After every drawing and invention, my creativity and fire continued to grow.

Through the years, I’ve expanded my skills tremendously by taking sculpture, design, and engineering classes in and out of school. I also attended Academy of Art online courses where my car design was featured in the student gallery. I’ve made countless etchings and oil paintings, chiseled stone sculptures, formed clay busts, drawn a variety of landscapes and portraits, and utilized different media: charcoal, watercolors, oil, acrylic, stone, clay, and paper, in my art and experimentation. 

I have emerged with one true passion: designing solutions—my answer to Picasso’s problem of remaining an artist beyond childhood. I know I have much to learn and am excited to expand my creativity and knowledge by finding ways to fuse ideas and design to create meaningful solutions. This path will allow me to contribute, one design at a time, to improving the world around me and keeping alive the artistic spirit that grows within me.