The Art of Sammie Saxon

Art blends form and color into the atmosphere of the local community, and when it inspires and challenges its viewers, it helps evolve and grow the collective consciousness of the city.

Sammie Saxon is a local artist whose work in photography offers the community this opportunity for growth. His diverse and often experimental work inspires imagination and exploration.

Sammie grew up around art. His mother was an illustrator who worked as a hair and makeup artist. One of her more interesting jobs was for a funeral home. His uncle was a one-armed folk artist. Witnessing his uncle follow his passion for making art even in the face of adversity inspired Sammie. He would spend hours watching his uncle paint. “He didn’t let anything hold him back,” he says.

Sammie’s grandfather was a barber and as a young boy, Sammie would sit for hours in the barber shop listening to the stories of the older gentlemen patrons. “They all had stories,” Sammie recalls. This awareness of the stories people carry around inside of them gave Sammie a passion for story-telling, which he would eventually find an outlet for in his art.

Sammie first began exploring photography as a child when his mom brought home a Kodak 110. He immediately fell in love with taking pictures and developed a passion for photography that grew stronger each year. In high school, Sammie’s art skills caught the attention of a teacher who saw his potential and applied for a scholarship for him without even telling Sammie. He won the scholarship and says that if it hadn’t been for this, he probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to study art in college, a turning point in his life which solidified his career. After graduating from CSU Sammie got a magazine internship which pushed him into fashion photography.

With an interest in fashion and fine art photography and any type of once-in-a-lifetime scenario, Sammie is an opportunistic photographer with a realistic understanding of what it takes to be successful as an artist in this day and age. Working on a project only to have it seemingly overlooked can be discouraging, especially when your work is personal. “You’ll see a meme travel across the internet faster than something people actually put thought into, so it’s easy to get discouraged,” Sammie says. However, he doesn’t let this stop him from continuing to capture and share images that otherwise might go unseen.

One accomplishment Sammie is particularly noted for is discovering models in Columbus. One in particular, is Maggie Laine, who went on to get picked up by a New York agency and model for Victoria’s Secret and other big name companies. Though he resides in Columbus and contributes much to the local community, his work in the fashion industry has taken him all over the world.

Marketing yourself as a photographer and knowing when and where to display your work is a big part of success in the business. “Even if you’re a really good photographer, it doesn’t matter if no one sees your work,” Sammie points out. Social media can be a great opportunity for displaying work to a vast audience, but also opens an artist up for copycat artists who usually don’t have any artistic background but are talented enough to mimic, and who have no emotional attachment to the art itself. “Most of everything has been done before, we aren’t inventing anything new” Sammie says. “But as an artist it’s important to have a connection to your work, and not leap into something just because some guy on instagram makes it look easy. Find your voice as a photographer and draw inspiration for others without recreating.”

Sammie has found ways to develop his own personal niche as a photographer. One service he began offering that was unique to the industry locally was an on-site hair and makeup stylist: his wife. Working together in this way, they were able to provide the convenience of a one stop photo shoot for their clients, which is a unique setup that has set a local trend.

While photography is not always a lucrative career in the Columbus area, Sammie has a passion for the work he does. “There are times you don’t make money as an artist, but I love what I do,” he says. With an interest in providing opportunities for local artists, Sammie and his partner Berkly Martin came together to create community art shows where artists can enter their work to raise money for donations to charity. In this way, Sammie and fellow artists can offer an inclusive, accepting platform for local artists to showcase their work, and can also give back to the community.

While Sammie’s style is diverse and he enjoys experimentation, the stories he tells are stories of humanity, hope, and life. He seeks to produce work that is authentic, as he says, work that displays “how the world should be – without filters and all this glam, just as it is.”

Stories are important, linking humans and documenting the overlooked, fleeting moments of life. Sammie’s work ensures the stories he sees from behind a lens are told to the world.

And the stories he tells will not be forgotten.

By Natalie Downey