By Greigh Cloward
NEWBURYPORT – Sam Szabo and Paul-Emile Cendron are featured artists in Coming Home, a current art exhibit at Newburyport Art that has invited past and current citizens of Newburyport back to their hometown to showcase their unique artistic talents.
Szabo is a cartoonist who received a bachelor’s in creative writing from Oberlin College. She started making visual art in college to explore different ways of expressing herself. She was inspired by a diary comic, “American Elf” by James Kochalka, to make four panel comics about her own life and experiences. Shortly after college, she became a freelance joke writer for the satirical newspaper “The Onion” and now currently works through freelance art gigs, giving guest lectures at art schools, or teaching workshops. In 2023, Szabo published her first graphic novel titled “Enlightened Transsexual Comix.”
Cendron is a filmmaker who attended Skidmore College to study acting at the Moscow Arts Theater in Russia. He received degrees in English and theater. He first started out as an actor in the film “The Judge” where he played Robert Duvall’s grandson. Subsequently, Emile acted in plays on Broadway and in televisions shows including “Law & Order” before he transitioned to editing movies and helping run the production company, Nite4Nite.
Cendron and Szabo both started out participating in the local theater, Theater in the Open, in Newburyport. They have been friends since they were younger. Both enjoyed creating unique artistic projects with their friends. Szabo first became interested in art, especially graphic novels, at a young age by exploring the comics section of bookstores. She was greatly influenced by her friends and growing up in Newburyport. Newburyport’s history encouraged her exploration of early American history and her own history in her future writing. When she first started creating comics, she was greatly inspired by writings from other transgenders describing their experiences. Her writing consists of humor and sincerity to reflect on her experiences as a trans as they were painful and traumatic for her. Emile was first inspired to create art by looking at the illustrations in children’s books and being around his mother’s paintings and drawings. He always loved movies, partly prompting his choice to first become an actor. His greatest inspiration for coming up with new ideas is listening to songs and composers.
By being a part of Coming Home, Szabo and Cendron want to meet new artists and see work from artists they haven’t seen in a while. Szabo wants to demonstrate that you can leave your home and grow but still keep your origins close to your heart. She believes “this is an opportunity to showcase our very eclectic art community.” Emile states that he will “hopefully not embarrass himself.” He thinks that “Coming Home shows the impact of what happens when a community, and people like Belle Struck, support artists over many years–people come home!”
When asked if they had any advice for aspiring artists, Sam Szabo said that you should care about instincts and passion over making money, make what inspires you, and to just start creating, and Paul Emile-Cendron stated that you should “Immerse yourself in the greats, find your voice, do the thing, don’t quit.”
Paul-Emile Cendron’s Production Company: www.Nite4Nite.com Sam Szabo’s Online Store: brainboogerindustries.bigcartel.com To learn more about Coming Home visit: newburyportart.org. ♦
