SaeJin Lee is a graduate of Goshen College and Bethany Christian Schools, both MEA partner schools.
by Eileen Kinch for Anabaptist World and available here
Anabaptist World: How did you become an artist?
SaeJin Lee: Understanding and accepting myself as an artist has been a journey.
As a child, I simply remember spending a lot of time creating — drawing, painting, making paper dolls and clothes, singing, etc. In my teenage years, my family immigrated to the United States from Korea, and when speaking in a new language became limiting, I found art as a method for self expression and acceptance. These were probably the years that I first thought about what it means to be an artist, taking every art class and other extracurricular opportunities offered at my high school (Bethany Christian Schools).
I entered Goshen College to study pre-med, but by my second year, I realized I was enjoying drawing lab apparatus much more than the labs themselves and really missed engaging art on a regular basis. I began understanding myself as an artist, not because I was making a living out of it, but simply because I accepted that making art made me feel most alive and present to my relationships. By my third year at Goshen College, I switched my major to Art and Bible/Religion/Philosophy, and cherished integrating the two fields in life.
