Spotlight: Sarah Gardner, Mixed Media Artist

Sarah Gardner has been a maker for her entire life. She now embraces play in her practice creating bright and colorful mixed-media art. With no set schedule, she makes time to create daily. She believes the process of making connects you to your true self.

How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?

I have always been what I call a maker. My Granny taught me knitting and cross-stitch, and my mom taught me sewing and embroidery. I’ve been a jewelry maker and a classroom art docent. I’m a self-taught mixed media artist. I am a recovering perfectionist. Playful, messy art is very freeing.

I think that a big part of who I am as a person needs to be creating. For quite a few years now, creativity has been and continues to be my self-care. I still practice law part-time, though! I think I need the left brain and right brain balance.

Why mixed media? 

For me, mixed media is freeing and forgiving. I honestly feel that when it comes to mixed media, anyone can do this! I want all the supplies! So, I am very motivated to play with them, experiment, see what they do. This is how I’ve learned.

What is the most important takeaway you want readers to gain from your new book, Share Your Joy: Mixed Media Shareable Art?

I wanted to create a beautiful book full of fun projects anyone can do. With that in mind, it is a book that will help anyone get playful and creative, enjoy the PROCESS of making something they love, and then, hopefully, share their joy with someone else by giving their art away. It’s creativity for it’s own sake because the process is one that connects you to your true self. This is joyful and healing.

What different creative media do you use in your work?

I like to make what I call “Art Papers.” This is a result of many years of teaching art camps for kids – coming up with a lot of fun projects they can do. It’s something anyone can do, and have fun with. It’s a creative process not focused on an end result because the whole idea is to use the art papers to make something else. It’s just free, playful creativity, seeing what will happen. Anything can happen! That randomness is something that really helps me avoid perfectionism and embrace uncertainty. I get out of my head, and connect with myself.

Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?

For me, it is all about playfulness. I want to access the part of my brain that is willing to surrender control and learn new things. Play allows me to do this. And, it’s usually lots of layers.

I make a choice and then the next choice is informed by the outcome of the results of the previous choice, layer after layer. It’s an intuitive process, where I really try to get out of my own way! When I’m creating a lesson or a class, I do plan more. But I factor in as much randomness, using unpredictable media, as I can so that students can experience the joy of surprises and happy mistakes. That way they tame their own inner critics a little.

When is your most productive creative time? 

I don’t stick to a routine. I fit in something creative everyday, even if it’s doodling onto some plain paper to create a patterned art paper to use later on. 

The best time and space for me to create tends to be “alone time,” when I have the house to myself (except for the dog!), and I don’t have anyone else’s needs to worry about.

What is your favorite storage tip for your creative supplies?

I like to store most of my supplies grouped by color. This is really the only constraint because I don’t have a dedicated art space. I have an “art closet,” and I create in random areas: a little “art desk” in the living room, the dining room table, the table on the outside front deck, my daughter’s desk (she’s away at college). I think this vagabond quality lends itself to impromptu creativity.

I grab a few supplies and put down a cloth and get into my art journal or make some postcards and then put it all away after my session. For the 100 Day Project in 2021, I made 100 paper mobiles. I had project stuff all over the house for 100 days! It was probably stressful for my husband, but I loved it! One day I hope to have a dedicated studio.

What plays in the background while you work? Silence? Music, audiobooks, podcasts, movies? If so, what kind?

Usually silence. I will sometimes listen to music but not any particular genre. 

Tell us more about creative self-care. 

Creativity is self-care for me because I can settle in and trust the process. I can use my intuition. I can play with color, which gives me joy. I am in the moment, present and not overthinking, judging what I’m doing or worrying about how it will turn out. I am connected to my true self. I am ME. 

Our daily schedules and our culture are so focused on production. When I’m creating, I’m not in production mode.

Creativity offers me a way to just be me. It’s a mindfulness practice that is actually practical. I’m DOING something. It’s really hard for me to meditate. I am an over-thinker to begin with. Creativity the way I practice it gets me out of my head. I can focus on just what’s in front of me in the moment. Judgment and that dictatorial (perfectionistic) inner critic aren’t invited here.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

My art is influenced by what I read. One book that I refer to a lot is by Beau Lotto. It’s called Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently.  He encourages us to embrace uncertainty. Nothing new, he says, is ever created from certainty. Only by expanding our scope of possibility by embracing uncertainty can we create something new. This advice is like a permission slip for playfulness. It represents a freedom to be wrong, make a mistake, explore, experiment, and take a little risk.

How has your creativity evolved over the years?

I think I followed enough of what excites and inspires me and then practiced – embraced trial and error – for quite a while before I felt like I had my own creative style. I know that it took me some time and making a few things I didn’t like, to figure out what I do like. And now I just continue to layer until I like it!

I also sent a lot of art away! Making postcards to swap for the last 12 years was a big part of my learning process. Creating art you know you’re sending away seemed like a little less pressure. There is freedom and forgiveness in that. Everyone is making what makes them happy and then swapping it. It’s not about creating art that someone will buy, and the focus is on enjoying the process, not striving for a perfect end result. 

Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?

I think that what inspires me the most is color. Bright colors, especially pink 😉 just give me joy!  Playing and creating with them gives me even more joy. So, I am drawn to the work and style of other artists who use colors I love. And all my supplies just inspire me to create.

How do you know when a piece or project is finished and needs no additional work? 

As I’ve said, I layer until I like it.  What this means is that sometimes, I make a choice and I don’t like how it’s looking. That just means I need more layers! I like to go back and forth, adding color, then muting it, using different media. And I love to add details and doodling as a finishing touch.

When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person? 

It must have been as early as age 7 or 8, when coloring books were my jam! Then I had a thing for felt tip markers to use for doodling and coloring. These were fun, meditative, and playful times. Even then, I was very inspired by color.

Do you think that creativity is part of human nature or is it something that must be nurtured and learned?

I think we are all creative. Our creativity is an essential part of what makes us human. But our culture doesn’t seem to value it in the way that it deserves. 

Getting creative is a way we can honor our whole selves, even if what we make isn’t considered “art” by the larger culture.  My creative practice is this honoring, but it also translates into how I live my life.

Rewiring my brain to tap into those creative, intuitive, and playful aspects of myself helps me to use these new neural pathways in my day-to-day experiences and life is just better. 

How have other people supported or inspired you? 

Only recently have I leaned into even letting myself be supported by others. For so long, I thought I had to do everything myself. And I still have a work ethic that won’t let me give less than 150% most of the time.

Writing a book has made me realize that the support of readers can take your joy to a whole new level. So, my art community is really important to me. I’ve used social media to build and foster this sense of community. As an instructor for various courses, I’ve added students to that community and I’m a part of theirs. This is a fulfilling connection that feels like love and support even if it isn’t face-to-face.

How do you deal with creativity blocks? 

I have yet to experience a creative block. I may feel, on occasion, a lack of motivation, but inspiration is everywhere. I have notebooks full of lists of ideas for future reference. I know I can always go to one of those.

When I don’t feel motivated, I embrace that. I rest, I walk on the beach, I pet my dog. It’s about being gentle with myself, instead of being hard on myself. This way, it’s a feeling that never lasts very long.

Where can people find you and your work?

The best place to go is to my website because there are links there to everything else! https://www.juicy-s.net/