Ariel Levine, who goes by Ari to everyone she knows, is a talent. Her hands show her no boundaries, whether she’s using a wooden pencil on paper, the trackpad on her laptop, or looking through the lens of a camera. She’s a beach blonde with the most gentle voice and an infectious laugh. Her motto : “be happy”. Her work ethic : vigorous. These two qualities, plus an arsenal of talent and dedication to producing unreal works of art, have landed her the opportunity of a lifetime. Victoria’s Secret, if you’ve heard of it, is a massive retail franchise with a highly competitive pool of applications for employment and internships. Out of thousands, she earned a design development internship this summer for Victoria’s Secret PINK in New York City.
So, where did all this begin?
Ari’s mom is a clothing designer who always dressed her in her own creations. She grew up watching her work and create, mixing and matching prints, fabrics, and colors. Ari luckily found herself with the same talents as her mother, and decided that following the fashion industry “just kind of seemed the most natural” for her career path. “I knew that at Elon if I wasn’t doing something creative, I wouldn’t be doing what was best for me.”
As an art student, school work for Ari is a different beast than most English or business majors. “My major is so project based and fast paced that it can be really difficult to go out of my comfort zone with my style of creating,” she says. Once getting passed core curriculum classes like biology and statistics, late nights in the library end and long days in the studio or the computer lab begin. She says creative blocks are a huge obstacle to overcome as an art student. The material isn’t given to you like a textbook would. Instead, Ari is constantly creating her own material. The skills she has learned in school have definitely helped her overcome that, she says.
Deciding to focus your college career on art can be a difficult choice. “How can you get a job doing art?” is a stereotype that Ari says motivated her more than anything. “As corny as it is…the challenge of making my pieces better over the years has given me the confidence to continue it as a career even if it’s looked down upon as an unsuccessful path.”
Of course, the best way to showcase Ari’s talents is through looking and not reading. I leave you with her portfolio linked down below. Ari was born in Massachusetts and is is currently a junior at Elon University. She will graduate in the Spring of 2020 with a major in Communications Design and a minor in Digital Art.
Check out her work here ! www.alevine74.wixsite.com/arielgraceportfolio