Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Jenkins.
Hi Sarah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Throughout my life, I have been enchanted by the beauty of light shining on stained glass – from the deep colors of centuries-old cathedral glass to modern patterns found on sidewalks and garden stepping stones. In college I learned the basics of making mosaic art, and through supportive faculty mentorships and opportunities to work with other students in community-based projects, fell in love with the mosaic medium.
In graduate school I studied art therapy, learning firsthand the ways in which artmaking helps us through personal growth and make sense of the world around us. Again and again, I found myself drawn towards mosaics as an intuitive way to work through the joy and grief of everyday living. Through years of practice and making commissions for friends and family from my home studio, I have continued to develop my own authentic artistic voice for my mosaic work. Most recently, I have had the joy of exhibiting my work in several group exhibitions in galleries in Kansas City, including Four Chapter Gallery and Vulpes Bastille in the Crossroads neighborhood.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Creative growth is circular rather than linear process, gently asking for patience to persevere through the discipline of regular practice and to show up to the studio even when I feel uninspired or without new ideas. Like every artist I know, I have had seasons of energetic confidence, happily working long hours creating new pieces, as well as times of intense self-doubt.
I believe that one of the best ways we can support artists is through invitations to be in healthy community with other artists. Being an artist is often a lonely pursuit that requires immense courage – Courage to maintain the discipline of practicing your craft and to share your art with others. Even the seemingly simple but actually quite vulnerable and brave act of naming yourself as an artist becomes possible through encouragement from others that believe in you and affirm the importance of what you have to offer.
Over four years in college, I was a part of a theater ensemble that met twice weekly to produce three plays each year. Through spending so much time together building sets, sewing costumes, rehearsing lines, and writing our own scripts, we cultivated deep trust with each other. This trust allowed us to encourage each others’ creativity, both as theater artists and in other areas of our lives, in really specific and meaningful ways. Here in Kansas City, I am a part of a multidisciplinary artist group that meets regularly to give feedback about projects we are working on and discuss art and religion within our current culture. Within this group, we generously share the hard-earned wisdom we have learned from our creative habits and careers and inspire one another to continue making art. The friendships I have formed within these artist communities have been so formative in developing my confidence as an artist.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a Christian visual artist, I am deeply interested in theology and the ways in which art communicates our beliefs about God, others, and our experiences of being human. I most often find inspiration in the colors of the natural world around me and the joy and satisfaction of creating new compositions from pieces of broken glass and ceramic. By reshaping and reassembling what is fragmented and often discarded, I am practicing hope by reimagining new purpose for these broken materials.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Throughout my childhood, I was shy and soft-spoken, often with a book in hand, always curious about the world around me. I grew up near the beach along the Puget Sound in Washington State, and its geography – the evergreen trees and overcast skies and soothing murky ocean tides – shaped me into the artist I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarahjenkinsart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahjenkinsart
- Other: https://sarahjenkins.substack.com
