BROSSARD, QC — Some people have referred to Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark as a superhero. We would argue the same title could be given to Canadian artist Samantha Wojciechowicz.
The art therapist spends her free time painting one-of-a-kind pieces that combine sports stars with the equipment they play with. Instead of using a paintbrush, Wojciechowicz — who goes by Samantha Woj for her art — dips an actual football into her paint to create portraits of Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff and more. Hockey paintings are done with hockey sticks.
And one of her most recent works was done entirely with a basketball to celebrate Caitlin Clark and Iowa's historic run to the Final Four in 2023. Then after Clark broke the NCAA's women's scoring record, Wojciechowicz reposted it and it quickly went viral once again.
But Wojciechowicz's story goes beyond her remarkable painting styles.
She was born with a rare congenital disorder known as ectrodactyly. It left her with one finger on each hand at birth and three toes in total. As a toddler, Wojciechowicz's doctors surgically removed a toe from each foot to create thumbs.
It didn't take long for Wojciechowicz to discover her passion for art as an elementary student. Then after the pandemic hit, she decided to combine her love for art with her love for sports. Wojciechowicz began creating paintings of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and tagging them on social media. She would use their tools of choice as her own brushes, noting the resulting texture was something totally unique.
Then in 2022, her work started going viral. Since then, she's popped up on TV interviews and trending TikTok videos. Wojciechowicz even got a shoutout from Jason and Travis Kelce on their "New Heights" podcast.
You can check out even more of Wojciechowicz's work on her website.
We spoke with Wojciechowicz on The Current on News 8 about painting Caitlin Clark, inspiring a new generation of artists and what it's like to put a basketball to canvas. You can watch the full interview in the above video.
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