Interview with Sean Simonds

     Sean Simonds is a freshman at Baruch College currently working to maintain his grades so that he can make his way to Zicklin School of Business.  For the years before college, Simonds worked to create all types of projects that involved creating animations by taking hundreds to thousands of pictures, each of which displayed a minute change of an inanimate object. Besides his creative hobbies at home, Simonds worked full time during the summers at a yoga studio called Bija. Simonds worked as a counselor at the studio and led dozens of children, aged three through six, through artistic exercises that he hopes will redirect their chaotic energy into a calm, creative and productive life structure.

Q: What do you do?

A: “In my free time I make stop motion videos using “claymation” and other inanimate objects that I then make move. For the last three years, I have been a counselor at Bija, a child yoga facility in Brooklyn. I work to help create art projects that use recycled materials, and create a curriculum [within Bija] that helps create a life style that promotes a practice [children] can carry with them for the rest of their lives.  It is a holistic experience that works to give space for creativity to be explored without interference, and this is something I think is crucial for a developing mind.”

Q: What arts scene do you participate in? How would you classify yourself?

A: “I would classify myself as a filmmaker… out of personal optimism and wishfulness.  But, I don’t think I’m part of a stop motion scene… rather just a public forum for sharing all types of work.”

Q: Do have a favorite between stop motion and your work at Bija?

A: “I would say that my own work is my passion, so that is what I really love.  At the same time…I’m really excited to see some of these kids fully grow. I think that the experience that Bija and my work has offered is something that has never been offered before and that we are creating a new generation and hopefully within this we can finally see how these holistic teachings are going to empower people to be more holistic in their experience. Whether it be corporate or being a painter, I think that the holistic experience can add an incredible amount of artisticness and art mindfulness to the world.”

Q: Could you explain what Bija is?

A: “Bija…well, it started as a yoga program for afterschool children and has developed to become a holistic childcare facility.  They do daycare, summer camp, [and] after school programs.”

Q: Is there any overlap between what you do at home and what you do at work?

A: “My mom is a yogi, or a yoga practice person… I was always kind of taught these things, like on the simplest level to take a deep breath. Being in the realm and watching these children for the past few years, seeing how the arts and these sensory experiences and objects can create such a change from the normal child care experience [is amazing].  Seeing how kids can go from a big emotional trauma to being ready for the next experience in a deep breath is kind of incredible, and I’ve since tried to change my own ways to embody these goals that we set for these kids so that I can benefit from them as well.”

Q: Is it your interaction with the arts entirely positive?

A: “One of the greatest negatives is people approaching the mission and not fully understanding what it really is.  Being holistic in all of your endeavors is really important, and working with people that think they share the belief really takes so much more than this [just thinking] … you need to live through this belief and this is what it requires and that’s how you need to present yourself.”

Q: What about your own work?

A: “The most frustrating thing to me is how much shit I have going on besides [stop motion].  If I could drop everything in my life, and make stop motions for every minute of every day I would probably be the loneliest person in the world but I might also be the happiest.”

Q: Would you consider what Bija does an art form?

A: “The piece of art is the practice we are creating for these kids.  I think a lot of it is about the children, and being able to teach them to not fall into a box.  I think that being told: this is how you’re supposed to play, this is what you’re supposed to do is bad.  They should have free reign to create their own experience, and decide how they want to approach something.  The best way to define Bija is that it allows kids to be able to define how they are motivated. They can choose what and how they want to pursue, they have options to do art, yoga, theatre and all types of practices and this really opens doors for them to explore the rest of the world rather than having to be told or hold to prior beliefs.”

Q: What are your most proud accomplishments?

A: “I’m gonna be included in an advertising campaign for Bija that will be put on the subway.  I was published in the Ted blog as one of the ten coolest NYC kids for one of my stop motions that I had on Vimeo… that got me into college.  I wrote a little application and attached a link to my video and got selected.  I would say my videos, any of them, are my most proud accomplishments.  I don’t put anything up that I am not proud of… probably finishing the work that I do, any one video, the attention and so specific in detail nature that I need to do [is what I am proud of].  I’ve done a stop motion over forty-five minutes for the simplest ones to ones that have taken me days.  My favorite medium is always clay, I can’t draw for shit but I can build anything out of clay.”