We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Elizabeth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sarah, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
As far as resiliency goes, I would say that I learned it from ignoring those who told me I couldn’t be an artist and be successful at it. Also, being a single mom, working full time, and building my business from the ground up definitely reinforces resiliency.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve been an artist all my life. I am self taught mostly because I wasn’t allowed to take art classes as a kid. I started my own Paint n’ Sip business in 2017 after being turned down to work as an instructor at a Paint n’ Sip shop. I have successfully taught over 250 events in 6 states over the span of 5 years. When the pandemic hit, I was forced to pivot and find other work. I had a personal goal to create a mural in Seattle and ended up doing 8 of them! I later ended up finding my way into an art teaching job for a private school in Seattle. I now teach art to kids aged 2-13, and I love it!
The future has many possibilities for me, I’m gifted with Chromesthesia and I’m currently working on a multi-sensory art installation and scouting locations for an exhibit. I hope to have that debuted by winter of 2025 so look out for that!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Willingness to fail. When we fail, we learn. Sometimes the lessons don’t reveal themselves right away but they always serve us well.
2. Collaboration. Oftentimes artists are seen as lone wolves. When we work together, magic can happen.
3. Consistency. Always work on your craft, every single day if you can.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I really loved The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. I recommend going through the course / book at least once. I learned a lot about myself and creating good habits to further my success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artbysarahelizabeth.com
- Instagram: @Sunny_the_Artist
- Facebook: @customartbysarahelizabeth
2