Senior Sasha Mamaysky: Painting for a Cause
Ever since senior Sasha Mamaysky can remember, she has always loved art. Whether it was the simple activities in her Pre-K class or the after-school lessons in elementary and middle school, Mamaysky has always found art as a safe haven to de-stress and relax. However, it wasn’t until a summer camp she attended in middle school that she discovered her true passion: oil painting. Since then, Sasha has dedicated countless hours to painting, researching her subjects, and using her art to make a difference in local and international communities.
A large turning point in Mamaysky’s artwork took place at the beginning of the pandemic. At the time, Mamaysky was enrolled in Painting 1, where she began grounding herself in the techniques of painting. However, as you might imagine, continuing a painting class over Zoom presented many difficulties, and as a result, the class morphed into more or less a drawing and research class. But this isn’t a story of thwarted hope; it’s one of resiliency. Mamaysky, noticing she had more free time than ever, took it upon herself to hone her interests and continue to pursue the activity she loved.
After realizing how uplifting art was for her, Mamaysky sought a way to spread the same joy to others, in particular those who were most devastatingly affected by the pandemic. That’s when she reached out to a local nursing home and began what she describes as “one of the most formative and impactful experiences in her [art] career.” There, she reached out to an event coordinator and got to work on a series of three paintings of various scenes in nature, one of which took over 40 hours to complete. Sasha pitched her idea to the Parents’ Association (PA) summer grant council and received a grant that covered her supplies’ expenses. For Mamaysky, this was a huge growth experience, as she had never painted anything as big or as intricate before. However, she was ultimately reassured that this project was a huge success after hearing that the nursing home residents loved her artwork.
Mamaysky, however, did not stop there. After completing a year of Painting II, she used the summer of 2021 to continue to make a difference in her community. As she recounted in her PA Summer Grant presentation, Mamaysky started an art workshop for a group of children who had just moved from Afghanistan. Through this program, Sasha taught them the basics of composition and fostered their love for art. The compensation Mamaysky received wasn’t constituted by monetary means, but rather by the laughter, smiles, and passion from her students.
Coming into her senior year, Mamaysky faced a new obstacle: she had completed all the painting courses the art department offered. Instead of letting this deter her, Mamaysky took it upon herself to design her own independent study. She worked with visual arts teacher Ms. Betsy Fields to develop a curriculum that analyzes elements of historical American feminism and uses paintings as a mechanism to capture themes and feelings from each time period. While Sasha’s time at Riverdale is coming to an end, her interest in art most certainly will not. Although it will not be the focus of her future, Sasha wants to keep painting a part of it as it has helped her cultivate a sense of self and purpose.
