Dearest readers, listeners, lovers,
I’m coming to you in vulnerability. In the age of over-sharing, I have come to really enjoy moving in silence. I love the feeling of having a million tricks up my sleeve that no one saw coming and having a hoard of incredible art and ideas stashed away in case I crash out completely and fade into obscurity. (Can you relate?)
But I am pushing my edges by sharing intimately with you during the infancy of my newest conceptual photo series: EROS. It’s just a baby!
Being protective over our creativity is wise, I think. It is a very childlike part of ourselves and can be very tender, sensitive to negative feedback or criticism. But in the name of resiliency and self-trust, I open myself to you so that we may revel in the beauty and mystery of the creative process together. Yes, I am working on bringing conversations with other artists to you as well, but if I am going to ask them to open up about their process, it’s only fair that I go first.
The conception of this series wasn’t a flash of immediate insight, but more like an inner pulse that got louder over the course of a couple months. A conversation with a friend here, a thunderstorm in the woods there, someone who purchased some prints from me remarking on how the images felt reminiscent of Greek myth (confirmation of a direction I was already feeling pulled.)
Though I’ve encountered an unknowable number of ideas in my lifetime, the experience of having one never becomes less magical to me.
In this episode, I talk about:
The sensual, enlivening relationship between nature and creativity
Word clouding as a tool for conceptual development
Ideas as entities with agency and how to seduce them into visiting you
How longing (not fulfillment) can fuel our most powerful work
The difference between romantic and platonic forms of desire
And rants and rambles in between…
Thank you for witnessing the messy magic of a work in process. I hope something within my process becomes fuel for yours. And don’t forget about your homework. (You have to listen to find out what it is.) I need you to report back, stat. For science.
In love and inspiration,
Sarah
PS: Here’s the link to my previous series mentioned in the episode, IF WATER WAS GOD and I’ll let you know as soon as I have the exhibition on the books.
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