Wearing handmade model magic earrings, Vayda Smith appeared in my painting class at Nauset High for the first time this past September. Often, they were first to arrive, carting a project they were working on — crocheted cozies for glass Christmas ornaments or repairs for ripped clothing — and eager to talk about it.
Vayda is a crafter of things that are new and speak to their times. Their main medium is acrylic paint. In my painting class, Vayda was asked to use gouache, mixing the three primary colors. Vayda approached it like a scientist, with an astounding ability to pay attention to detail.
Vayda’s family moved here from southern California in 2020. Was that a culture shock? “I assimilate well,” Vayda said. “Change is easy for me.” Does that viewpoint make one an artist? “I recognize patterns in things,” said Vayda. “No material is unique to itself.”
Music is their other focus. The portrait on the cover of the Independent‘s Class of 2023 graduation section is of Nauset High senior Emma Taylor of Eastham. Vayda sees Emma as an artist with great acting ability and musicality.
“My dad has had the greatest influence on me,” Vayda said. “He wrote commentary for obscure scary movies from the ’20s. I was raised watching these black-and-white horror films. That was my pop culture.”
I asked about the future of contemporary art. “It is important for art to disrupt but also to be beautiful,” they said. “I hope the mastery of humans does not get lost to AI .This idea is terrifying to me.
“I hope my audience can appreciate what emerges from the dullness that comes with everyday life and know that there doesn’t need to be an awesome spectacle in a painting to pay attention,” Vayda continued. “Translating mundane scenes into a painting makes them art no matter the subject. I focus on what is directly in front of me. Some of my images center on found objects; others are what you would find if you just looked outside your window. No matter the subject, my paintings mean to bring us into a frozen time. The majority of my images end up feeling lonely and abandoned, like a free dollhouse on a street corner, but the images can also feel peaceful and serene, like a perfectly still puddle acting as a portal to the sky.”
Vayda, who lives in Brewster, will attend Montserrat College of Art in Beverly. Vayda carries a sketchbook most of the time and admits that teachers have occasionally taken it away in class to have them focus on other things. They are happy to be going to a place where sketchbooks will be welcome.
