“My brother was seven years older than me, and we had the best relationship. We never fought. I was the hyper little sister and he was always patient and let me tag along with him and his friends. He taught me how to play computer games and let me watch Winnie-the-Pooh in his room even though he was too old to enjoy it. He had leukemia and it went into remission, but then it came back. He was being treated at St. Jude, and around Christmas time they had an event where you could stand in line to get a toy. He had just gotten chemo and was feeling sick, but he stood in line for an hour, and instead of asking for a toy for himself, he got a Barbie doll for me. I still have that doll. You don’t forget something like that. I think he knew he was going to pass away. He said to my parents, ‘I know something is going to happen to me, I know I’m not going to get better, but what about Samm? Who’s going to look out for her?’ He was so sweet. He died when he was 14 and I was 8. Even now, when I think about going to heaven, I think about meeting my brother again.
“I didn’t deal with his death for a long time because I was just a child and didn’t know how to thing about something like that, so I started drawing. It relieved my anxiety. When I got in college I finally started to process it and to really grieve that loss. I drew all the time; it was the only thing that calmed me. I did a lot of portraits of the two of us and it helped. Now I just draw because it brings me peace. It makes me feel so much better, like everything is okay, and reminds me that I can move through anything.
“I majored in Nonprofit Organizational Leadership, and I'm working now for a nonprofit [The Rev] as a visual artist. For me to get to use my art for a purpose that’s bigger than myself makes me feel good. The organization works with a lot of kids in Kenya and Uganda who have lost parents and siblings, so my being able to go there and teach those kids art helps them to help themselves. Expression through art saved my life in a lot of ways, and it may do the same for them. I feel like my life has come full circle."
“I didn’t deal with his death for a long time because I was just a child and didn’t know how to thing about something like that, so I started drawing. It relieved my anxiety. When I got in college I finally started to process it and to really grieve that loss. I drew all the time; it was the only thing that calmed me. I did a lot of portraits of the two of us and it helped. Now I just draw because it brings me peace. It makes me feel so much better, like everything is okay, and reminds me that I can move through anything.
“I majored in Nonprofit Organizational Leadership, and I'm working now for a nonprofit [The Rev] as a visual artist. For me to get to use my art for a purpose that’s bigger than myself makes me feel good. The organization works with a lot of kids in Kenya and Uganda who have lost parents and siblings, so my being able to go there and teach those kids art helps them to help themselves. Expression through art saved my life in a lot of ways, and it may do the same for them. I feel like my life has come full circle."
The giraffe above and the animals below are Samm's work.
“Everything we sell at The Rev is a giveback brand and the proceeds all go to help the people we work with in Kenya and Uganda. I used to have a cubicle job, and working here has enriched my life so much. I get to be an artist, and that’s the dream. I can’t work in a place where there’s no heart. The saying here is ‘Helping others help themselves full circle’, and I think that’s what it’s done for me. I think my brother would be proud of the way my life is turning out."
From The Rev page:
From the Be Free Revolution page:
Samm is a visual artist with The Rev (771 E. Brookhaven Circle), an extension of Be Free Revolution.
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