The Snowboarder's Journal - The Snowboarder's Journal 21.3
LASER FOCUSED: Bambi’s Second Nature
Words: Lauren Powers 2023-12-06 11:03:02
A collaborative effort from the Revelstoke, BC, backcountry. Photos: Lauren Powers. Art: Claudia Simon
It was August 2022, and the International Mural Festival was back in Nelson, BC. Claudia Simon, aka Bambi, came to town. She had scored a contract to paint a wall at the event. “I like the idea of bringing my digital illustrations into the real world,” Bambi says. “I can compare it to my progression in snowboarding. There’s something super satisfying about doing something scary for the first time, just like learning to ride at a local hill and eventually making it to bigger, steeper terrain in the backcountry. Eventually it becomes second nature.”
The first time I met Bambi was at Soulines, a short-lived freeriding competition near Nelson that was ahead of its time. Bambi was wearing an oversized vest and exuded stoke. She was easy to talk to and we’ve been friends ever since. From watching her team win the Cross Eye Photo Showdown at Revelstoke Mountain Resort to seeing her land her image in this title, I’ve admired her progression as a snowboarder. Concurrently, she’s nourished her vibrant artistic style. Bambi works with endemic brands regularly, creating community art installations and now massive murals.
Pulling up the dusty road of Cottonwood Falls Park toward the festival, I saw Bambi elevated on a skyjack, adding highlights to a friendly mountain character welcoming people into the park. Watching her paint, I could only imagine how difficult it must be to map out an image over an entire wall. Such opportunities are hard to come by, especially since not every town wants their buildings covered in eclectic art, which makes it inherently difficult for artists to cut their teeth in the realm of large-scale painting. Bambi was crushing it. The wall was covered with brushstrokes indicating where her next moves would be, like mapping out her line choice before dropping in and flowing down a mountain.
Bambi’s come a long way since then, and even further from her humble beginnings in Riviere-du-Loup, QC. She’s lived in British Columbia for the past 17 years and calls Revelstoke home, and her work has popped up elsewhere—murals in Kamloops, a rail in the terrain park at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, the start shack portal of WestCoast Triple Plank at Mount Washington. For Bambi, community comes first, which is why she is known to collaborate on projects with other emerging artists. “Since bigger projects call for bigger teams, the final result feels even more gratifying knowing that you get to share this sense of accomplishment,” she says. “The mural project in Kamloops was such a highlight and the positive response and support of the community was mind-blowing. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities that bring me closer to the snowboard community.”
In addition to working with Revelstoke Mountain Resort and WestCoast Triple Plank, Bambi’s had her hand in creating illustrations for hardgoods. Most recently she illustrated the top sheet of a Weston Backcountry snowboard, one of the companies she also rides for. The pursuit of being both artist and athlete is a challenge that requires relentless commitment and constant progression. For Bambi these passions are intertwined. She blends the line between them to succeed in her niche.
“As Tony Hawk once said, ‘The trick is to never stop’,” Bambi says. “I struggle with this, but being laser focused is what helps me stay on the right path. Chasing that high of riding scary lines, hitting big jumps, or just popping through a massive slash is what allows my overthinking brain to reset and come back to my art projects with a clear vision.”
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