INDIANAPOLIS — Basketballs are more than just spheres that drop through a hoop. Basketballs are things that can be used to fuel imaginations, with kids playing out in the driveway pretending to make the game-winning shot and college players’ dreams of playing at the highest level.

But in Sam Woj’s case, the basketball isn’t even on the court. It’s in her paint studio, helping her make intricate portraits of basketball stars, including the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark. Woj is an independent, Canadian artist who uses sports equipment (and food) to create paintings of moments in sports.

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Woj started using sports equipment, including hockey sticks, pucks, basketballs and even cleats, as her brushes following the Olympics in 2021. At first, it was difficult to get used to, but the lifelong artist has clearly got the hang of it.

“A lot of trial and error,” Woj said. “A lot of just letting go because I find when I paint with paint brushes, I'm so meticulous. I really wanted to make sure everything is specifically defined. So that is clear. And I found painting with a basketball was a form of freedom because I had to let the equipment itself direct me.”

She has been commissioned for multiple portraits, including one where she used an apple to commemorate Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid’s 100 assists, and another she used hockey sticks, pucks and helmets for portraits of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Morgan Rielly, which were prominently displayed at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

It’s a perfect combination of her two interests: sports and art.

“I've played sports my whole life, and when there was one summer I couldn't physically play because of injuries, I'm still wanting to express myself,” Woj told IndyStar. “The only other way I could express myself was through art. I was joking around with my sister and then I was like, ‘You know what, I'm gonna try it,’ and really combine my two favorite things, which is sports and art, and create something to express both my feelings and connect with others.”

Her most recent commission came from Round21, a platform that works with independent artists to create digital and physical products.

Round21 partnered with the WNBA and WNBPA, coming to Woj with what could be one of her biggest collaborations yet: a portrait of women’s basketball star and No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark. Woj’s portrait was printed on a shirt with the Fever’s colors, navy and red.

“Sam was somebody that had caught our eye, I'd say, around Christmas of last year,” Jasmine Maietta, founder of Round21, said. “She is very well received on TikTok and Instagram and Twitter. But it was really her humanity — when we work with artists, we want a personal relationship with them — and her very pure approach to representation through her art. … We were blown away by Sam's not only unique artistry, but also the way she portrays the subject in her art, and the way that she very much disproportionately focuses on athletes and sport through her art.”

Woj’s portrait of Clark shows the back of the basketball star, with her name on her jersey and trademark No. 22. Clark is looking forward to the court, ball in hand, ready to rifle off a pass to one of her teammates. To be able to make such an intricate picture, she cut slots in the basketball to keep a hold of it, then put paint directly on the ball, dabbing it onto the canvas.

Woj said it was important that she capture Clark’s court vision, rather than her shooting. The artist thinks Clark’s vision and passing is an underrated and crucial part of her game — something Clark herself has also said.

“The reason I did it was really to embody her playing with others, and her ability to play-make and support teammates,” Woj said. “That’s why I have her in-action, in that pose. Holding the ball, looking away, and playing into the action of the game, and planning her next move.”

These recent commissions have also helped her gain confidence in showing her Ectrodactyly, which is a rare genetic disorder affecting her hands and feet. She only has two fingers on each hand, and she used to hide it with goalie gloves in soccer.

Now, she’s making videos of her process and embracing her physical disability through art.

“I want to have people see that we can do things, and it's possible, because I never really had people to look up to with my disability or to see what we could do,” Woj said. “So I think my hope by showing my hands or potentially sometimes my feet in my videos is to show people that we can do amazing, incredible things.”

The shirt with Woj’s design is official WNBA/Indiana Fever merchandise, and it retails for $55. It can be found online or in the the Indiana Fever Team Store at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

“It’s unreal, I'm still trying to process that,” Woj said. “I mean, I am over the moon, just to have that accomplishment. I’ve seen videos of people saying, ‘Yeah, I bought it,’ and videos of them being in the store, it just makes me feel so good.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Meet the artist who used a basketball to paint Caitlin Clark