The Oracle: When and how did you start making art?

Sahana Kumar: Last year I took graphic design with Mr. Gleason, and it really showed me that I really CAN do art. Before that I had never been very artistic, and once I found something that I could actually do, I really got interested in it. I also went to a pre-college program at the Rhode Island School of Design this summer where I studied industrial design. That experience made me feel really at home, because it was in an art school around other people who have the same ambitions as I do. I may not be very technically skilled, like in drawing and in painting, but I love the feeling when I have an idea and I can actually follow through with it and make it into a real life piece.

TO: Who is your inspiration?

SK: Mr. Gleason was sort of my inspiration, but it wasn’t entirely him. I like to read blogs but it was mainly the sophomore counseling meetings that convinced me. My counselor saw that I had graphic design on my paper and she just assumed that I would like to go to art school. And then I thought I might want to go, and now Mr. Gleason gives me special help when I need it. We have an independent study period and I go in at yearbook times too.

TO: Is art something you would consider doing as a profession? Why?

SK: Yes, I would like to go into art as a profession, but not as a starving artist. I want to be an industrial designer, which is someone who designs things. In order to do that, I will have to go to an art school or maybe a normal school with a strong design department. I think I will definitely end up with some kind of design career. It’s a really broad topic so I could kind of go anywhere with it, but right now I am really interested in industrial design and more specifically, furniture.

TO: How do you get your ideas for your pieces?

SK: Usually for my graphic design pieces, I am given a prompt or a project that I am requested to do. Sometimes a teacher wants a poster designed and I have to make something within those restrictions. When that happens, I just think about an idea and try and make it. Sometimes I look at actual professionals’ blogs to get ideas and then incorporate them into my project without copying too much. Also, since I kind of fool around with photography, I might take a picture that will inspire me to do something with Photoshop.

TO: What do you enjoy the most about doing art?

SK: If it’s a school project I want to finish it right away. But if it’s just a project, I can start on it and then work on it all day and never want to stop. I’d put other things behind it because when I’m passionate about something I work on it all the time, and I love that feeling.

TO: Is there a particular style of art that you prefer?

SK: Well I like a lot of colors and shapes and there’s this style in Photoshop that we use, it’s called vectorizing. I would take something and light it one way and then take something else and light it differently. I just like breaking things into simple shapes.