December’s artist of the month is Amara Muth, a VADA senior whose muse is the uncomfortableness attached to society’s view on sexuality. She says she’s inspired by: “the fact that people get uncomfortable when it comes to sex and nudity”. Amara said,  “I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of the way people react when you do something that makes them uncomfortable, even though its completely natural and normal, the most natural thing on this planet is sex…I love the fact that when people look at my pieces they get weirded out”. Amara’s pieces are meant to make you take a step back and ask yourself “why does this make me uneasy?”. 

Amara’s love for art began in elementary school with a mother daughter relationship she shared with the art teacher who she says always “pushed me to succeed and always believed in me”. Her teacher would always select Amara for art shows, pushing her to be proud of her work and helping her to realize art was something she was good at. 

Though she has always had a deep appreciation for art, she began to take it seriously about 2 years ago when she discovered the realm of realism and fine art. She experienced her first AHA, or this is it, moment when doing an oil painting of an ex boyfriend (see side margin). She completed it in a day and was really proud of herself. She recalled thinking to herself “Wow, I can really do this”. 

Amara is not planning to go to school for art, nor pursuing it as a career. She is going to SBCC and is planning to pursue a career as a sex therapist. Though she’s unsure of exactly where she’ll be, or what she’ll do, she has wanted to be a sex therapist for years. However, she sees art as something she will continue to do and love, no matter her profession. Art is a grounding practice for her as she considers herself a “spazzy person, with a lot of energy most of the time”. Painting is a way for Amara to “center herself” and “calm down and focus.. It’s a way for me to release”. 

She hasn’t sold any art due to the attachment she has for every piece,“ what if this is my last good one?”. She wants to start selling them eventually when she makes more because she “only has so many”. She’s considering doing commission pieces. She has gotten offers, especially on her favorite piece (featured image).

This piece was the first she made in VADA. It took a week’s worth of art classes and hours at home to complete.  The reference photo was actually a photo she took of her and her friend. Amara has a hard time with proportions of realism so she projected the photo onto the mirror and outlined the image in paint. She then used the reference photo and filled it in with paint. She contends this piece is the work she is most proud of to date. 

Amara’s social media: instagram – @aamarza