Sarah L.

Perceptual Meditations of Being
Credit: Sarah L.Artist Bio

One question that Sarah never knew how to answer throughout life was “Where are you from?” Sarah moved so often that she would resort to replying either “Nowhere” or “From my mother.” Without roots to attach oneself to place, Sarah became a witness and traveler, with reverence for time, space, and the beauty in each individual place and new face. Along the way, she earned a BFA in Fine Arts and an MA in Elementary Education with the intention of returning to work abroad. After moving to Oregon, a family formed, which slowed her roll and allowed her roots to grow. After 18 years in Oregon, she can finally call a place home for herself and for her family. During this time, she has had the pleasure of being a mother, a partner, a toy designer, a teacher, a professional face painter, a perpetual student of martial arts, and now a student in art therapy. In an alternative universe, Sarah is most likely working as a paid musician/music therapist. In this reality, Sarah is currently experiencing the joy of exploring the creativity of the here-and-now at her internship working with older adults. This experience affirms her commitment that it is never too late to try new things. We are teachers and students of life until the end. Sarah looks forward to traveling again some day. For now, her need to explore unfamiliar places and to live just outside of her comfort zone is alive and well; reflected in her curiosity to experiment with any and all media available, and the need to strike up conversations with strangers.

Artist Statement

Perceptual Meditations of Being represents themes and metaphors of Self–my ways of being in this world, in this moment. Several themes may surface for the viewer. There are elements of earth, fire, water, air. There are levels of past, present, future. There is the witness, there is the helper. There is the spirit in the form of ancestors, of hope, of Mother Nature, animal archetypes of the self. Mortality is central, reflective of my internship site. The salmon is an ode to the PNW and incorporates a few design elements to honor indigenous Northwest artists such as Marvin Oliver and Mervin Windsor. I leaned on my background in illustration to create the top layer. The underlayer was a process of letting go of my tight control of media by using alcohol markers like watercolor on vellum. The alcohol sits on top of the vellum before drying. This gave me the chance to use my breath to blow the color across the page, or finger paint with the wet surface. The piece was a meditation of not only the self but in patience, perseverance, and problem-solving with its constant surprises and challenges.

The Selves was created during breaks from my main piece. It represents my current love affair with digital media, and my draw towards the perceptual level of the ETC. The Selves simply focuses on exploring, editing, and curating the endless possibilities of shape, line, color and form using one image as a control.

Rest is, in contrast, a color study of one image from the stained glass piece, intentionally created in a simple black on black style to allow body and eyes to breathe, to ground, to rest, to enjoy the quiet, the subtlety, the simplicity. It is a return to my preferred state of being.