December 2, 2025 – February 4, 2026 

Canyon Country Community Center, 18410 Sierra Hwy, Santa Clarita, CA 91351

“Let Go” by artist Dani Samson is a series of collages created through an intentional act of surrender.  Samson states “Using a diverse array of materials, I enlist gravity as my collaborator, dropping cut elements onto a surface and gluing them down exactly where they land. By relinquishing control, I suspend my thoughts and conditioned habits, allowing surprising compositions to emerge. This process yields arrangements that challenge my expectations, often leading to captivating material interactions that bring new depth and complexity to the work. Much like life itself, this series explores the cycle of choice, chance, acceptance, and interpretation. Each viewer brings their own perspective, assigning meaning in the same way I do when stepping back from the work. I invite audiences to spend time with these pieces, asking themselves: What could it be? What could it mean to me?”

Links to Dani Samson’s Media related to “Let Go“:

The artwork attached is titled “Portal”

Q&A with Dani Samson 

How do you usually start your creative process?
“In most of my practice, my process begins with a basic structure that I build from, such as a sketch or a reference image. There’s usually a lot of thought and intention behind how I arrange my materials, which often span multiple mediums. While I allow for looseness and moments of discovery, I tend to assert a fair amount of control over the outcome. What’s unique about the Let Go series is how radically simple the process is: gather collage materials, drop them, glue them, and observe the result. I have very little control, which makes this approach highly unusual for me.”

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received as an artist?
“There are many ways I could answer this, but one piece of advice has consistently carried me through my practice: fully own what you do. When I was first developing my creative voice, I felt self-conscious and uncertain about my work and its meaning. It’s easy, as an artist, to question the validity of what you make, how you make it, or why you make it. But leaning into your instincts, trusting your voice, and releasing shame around your work is essential. Your perspective is enough, exactly as it is.”

You use gravity as a collaborator by dropping cut elements and gluing them exactly where they land. How did you develop this technique, and what surprised you most when you began using it?
“In 2024, I challenged myself to intentionally cultivate certain qualities in both my life and my practice. One of those qualities was play. I initially approached this method as a fun exercise rather than a formal technique. I dropped the pieces simply to see what might happen. By the time I finished the first piece, I was genuinely laughing out loud with delight. The results were far more compelling and beautiful than I had anticipated, and I was surprised by the cosmic profundity of it.”

Have you ever been tempted to intervene after the pieces land, or is the commitment to “no adjustments” part of the integrity of the work?
“I am definitely tempted! But I very rarely make adjustments. Once in a while, I will flip a piece over if it lands “face down” (or what I think is face down). Other than that, I trust the process and let it be.”

How do you decide when a piece is finished, especially when chance dictates so much of the composition?
“Because I select all of the collage materials before I begin, the ending is already determined. The piece is finished when every chosen element has been used. Deciding how many pieces to select at the start is intuitive, guided by a feeling of “this is enough.” Knowing when a work is complete is an important skill in my practice overall, but in this series, the parameters make that decision more straightforward.”