Inktober Art Contest Winner, Sarah Royka
Throughout the month of October, Pixel Journal ran an art contest for autumn or Halloween themed pieces. After much deliberation, our social media team and editor-in-chief chose Sarah Royka as the winner. To find out more about Sarah and her art, contributor Fatima Rahim spoke to her. Find out more about Sarah, and see some of her artwork, below!
Pixel Journal: What exactly do you do? (What kind of art: photography, painting, ballet, etc.)
Sarah Royka: I have worked in many mediums (painting, drawing, dance, music, photography and metal-smithing), but my main focuses now are photography, metal-smithing and classical piano.
PJ: When did you start?
SR: I started photography last year at my previous school, but got my own film camera over the summer when I attended MECA Pre-College and really became more invested in it. I began metalsmithing two years ago at the same school and unfortunately no longer have the facilities to continue working. I have played piano for 12 years (since I was 4).
Sarah's winning submission.
PJ: What inspires you?
SR: Both in photography and metal I am inspired by the broader concept of breaking down larger ideas and pieces into new ones. That’s what really got me into both mediums. Metal allows me to take a sheet of metal perhaps, and produce something that wasn’t remotely there before. Photography on the other hand lets me take the physical world and adjust the viewer’s perspective. Both pieces below came from that idea of taking something larger and by breaking it down into smaller components creating something completely new. I also take inspiration from scientific concepts, such as time and neuroscience (which I want to major in). The bracelet below is a visual representation of the idea that time doesn’t exist linearly. It could be viewed as either the making or breaking of time. Crossing disciplines has always excited me and I find photography and metal to be the best mediums for me to achieve that.
One of Sarah's many beautiful pieces.
PJ: How often do you practice?
SR: Not enough. Ideally I would dedicated about 2 hours everyday to each of my arts, but I no longer have art classes built into my schedule and my academic and sport schedule make it difficult to do more than an hour of piano a day.
PJ: How do you make time for your arts?
SR: They are all stress relievers for me (except when I’m competing for piano), and they used to all be built into my daily life which was a really great creative outlet for me. Now I try to find times when I’m in a city or traveling to work on my photography. I found a nearby dark room and will go up there in the winter more often to print. Metal is pretty much at a standstill right now. I have projects in the works but lack the tools to complete them. Sometimes there’s more time than others to dedicate to my art but I try to set aside at least a little time everyday for piano.
PJ: Do you see yourself continuing art in the future?
SR: Definitely. Although I want to go the science path for college I will continue them perhaps as a minor or just on the side. Art and science, especially music, have always gone hand in hand for me and there’s so much work to explore that connects the two.
Edited for clarity and length.