Before I went on my writing hiatus I met with Sacramento’s artist Sarah Golden. I first saw her work at the Urban Hive, a local co-working space. Normally, I’m not drawn to a pale palette or the color pink (which was prominent in this particular series) but her work stopped me dead in my tracks. The first series I saw used color and simple shapes to pull the viewer in closer to the canvas. I was surprised at how moved I was by her work. It’s stunning.
Abstract work is a hard sell for some people. If I had a dollar for every-time I heard someone say, ‘Oh I could do that,’ I’d be rich. The thing about abstract work is that it comes down to the artists’ style and use of composition. It’s almost like a signature. Sarah’s abstract paintings remind me of poetry or music. Her use of negative space weaves your eye in and out and around corners.
Photo by Ryan Wegrzyn
It was a Saturday morning in late February when I met with photographer, Ryan Wegrzyn at Sarah’s Sacramento studio. The three of us talked about life and the struggles of pursuing your own creativity. Like her work, Sarah is gentle. Her studio sits to the side of her house where she is raising her twin daughters with her husband, a musician by his own rite, Jacob Golden. A pair of toy cars sat in the yard and the converted one car garage captures great light throughout the day. The perfect studio environment if you ask me.
Sarah’s talent goes beyond just abstract painting. She also designs fabrics for Andover, a wholesale manufacturer, and has a beautiful woodblock print series. Her fabrics and woodblock prints are playful and bright. I marvel at her fabric designs because she has to create designs that can tell a story but also repeat themselves so that they can be mass printed onto fabric. One of her geometric prints had even jumped off the canvas onto a beautiful dress she wore.
Every brush stroke or shape had been placed with intentional curiosity. I encourage you to learn more by following Sarah on Instagram. Her posts are like visual desserts. While your at it jump over to Ryan Wergzn feed as well.
Photo by Ryan Wegrzyn
I met both Ryan and Sarah through Instagram. Cultivating a community is hard. It takes bravery and a certain level of tenacity to put yourself out there, but in the end it’s worth it. Whether you are an artist, a writer, or just creatively curious, I encourage you to take a step outside of your usual box. We are the curators of our own lives. We get to decide who we surround ourselves with and where we are going to spend our Saturday mornings.