ART SLAM

I am very excited about sharing the art of Sara Berry on the Art Slam. Sara’s journal pages are among my favorite to look at. She has a way of weaving a message into her pieces that is not always obvious. I realized how amazing her work was when I participated in a Story of My Life ATC exchange where she created a set of cards. I admit I did not want to share her cards with the rest of the group…they were that good. Below is an interview with Sara about her work and what inspires her. Enjoy!

Why are you an artist and when did you become one?
Hmmm, I guess I am an artist because I can’t not be one. I believe that we are all artists in some way. For me, the visual arts have always had a place in my life. I have been drawing from the time I could hold a crayon and I am very fortunate that my family is full of creative and encouraging people. I was very lucky that my parents found a way for me to take formal drawing and painting lessons when I was a kid and as I got older it was just understood that I’d go to college and study some field of art. I started out majoring in Drafting and then moved on to Art History. I finally settled on Photography and received my BFA from the University of Hawai’i. Even if I had never gone to ‘art school’ I still feel like I would have found a way to incorporate creativity into my life wherever I ended up, because really isn’t that what being an artist is all about?

How would you describe your style?

I’d like to say something profound about style here, but, honestly, I don’t really feel like I have a distinct “style”. To me the best art is multi-dimensional and I try to incorporate that into the things I create. My favorite work marries obvious mainstream imagery with personal imagery creating art work that anyone can view and understand but that holds special meaning, a sort of secret meaning, for me. I love almost all mediums but particularly love art that is done with paper and paint and of course, photography.

Can you explain what inspires you?

Everything! There is so much going on in the world today…and in my own world. I have a four-year-old son who doesn’t let a day pass without being 100% in the moment and that certainly has changed my perspective on time and getting things done.
I am also in awe of the connectivity that we as artists share via the internet. There’s no limit to what you can see and learn these days. I can remember going to the library in our little town and pouring over books just wishing that I could find a picture of this or that. Now all one has to do is type a query into the Google search box and whatever you want pops right up on the screen. It is amazing.
I am in love with flickr and blogs, too.

What kinds of interests do you have outside of this form of expression?

I try to run at least 3 times a week. If I can’t go I get sort of fuzzy…like I have one of those little squiggly lines above my head. I have found running to be the best way for me to clear my head and get back to center. I always feel better after I have gone…even if it was a hard run.

I also enjoy reading. It is nice to lose yourself in a book every once and a while!

I also own a small scrapbooking company called Story of My Life. We sell monthly scrapbooking kits and running the company and website definitely fuels my love of personal documentation.

How do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio?

I keep journals. I have tons of journals that are full of ideas, photos, pages ripped from magazines, napkins…you name it. It was a hard adjustment for me to make once my son was born. I went from being able to just drop whatever I was doing to work on a project to being responsible for this tiny little human. I learned that if an idea presented itself I had better store it somewhere safe and then when I had the time I could break it out. The problem is not inspiration…it is time management! I will say that having time to work is not as much of an issue now that Hunter is older, and especially because he wants to make art of his own, but the all-nighter is a thing of the past!

What advice would you give to some just starting to explore their creative side?

Don’t be intimidated—just go for it. Journals are your friend…you never have to show them to anyone unless you want to and that safety is wonderful for truthful self-expression.

Stumble it!

Stumble It!