I have always been drawn to the arts, and I have always considered myself an artist.
From the second I could hold a crayon, I filled every surface I could find with little doodles, which eventually evolved to practicing artwork. I have always loved to create, whether through writing or drawing or sculpture, creativity was the character trait I embodied since early childhood. Art is one of my biggest passions, it is the most fulfilling part of my life, and nothing makes me happier than being able to share it with others. During high school, I took as many art classes as I could fit in my schedule, took lessons from a professional artist, and tried every medium I could get my hands on. Now, after years of refining my skills, I am ready to expand my art into a business. It is my dream to bring other peoples’ visions to life and to share my own ideas through art, and I am excited to be able to share that with the world.
You might be wondering where my studio name comes from, and no, it is not my given name. My name is Saraswati, which is also the name of the Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning, and craft. Growing up half-Indian in America with a foreign name, I watched a lot of teachers struggle to pronounce it properly. Not to worry, I took it lightheartedly and made it a private game to rank the worst mispronunciations of my name. The record holder for “most interesting” out of the accidental names was “Sawasta”, and when I was older, I shared this inside joke with my classmates. They immediately latched onto it and Sawasta became a bit of a nickname for me, lasting for several years. When I was first creating my art account on Instagram several years ago now, I was wracking my brain for a good username. I wanted it to be something that was unique to the world and meaningful for myself as an individual. “Sawasta” sounded perfect, it came with a story-and even better- it is available almost everywhere online, the word links back almost exclusively to me. And thus, Studio Sawasta was born.
I would like to take a moment to thank all the people who have supported me and helped me get here.
My parents (Annalakshmi & Thomas Stocksdale) have been the most supportive and encouraging influence in my life, they fueled my dreams (and helped me start financing them). None of this would be possible without them and I love them both with all my heart. My extended family on my mothers side has also been extremely supportive and have helped guide me on starting this business, both of my uncles (Venkateswaran Raman & Shankar Krishnan) in particular have given me a lot of support and advice in starting a business and helping it become a reality. I would also like to add a special mention for Bret (Hunter) Hayes who is my wonderful fiance. He has helped me put together this website, helped me finalize designs for my first large project, and has taught me the accounting basics I need so that I can do my own record-keeping. And last but not least, I would like to thank my high school art and AP art history teacher, Marci Lee, who supported my art and helped me develop my skills for all four years of high school.