Meet Sarah Garrard

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Garrard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Sarah , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I learned that in order to obtain self-esteem, you had to do esteem-able acts.

I try to be of service to others and do the right thing on a daily basis. When I am doing that, I am no longer consumed with myself, and then I find joy.

In regards to my artwork, I don’t think I’m necessarily confident, but I love working with the material and I’m confident in that. I think most artists are lacking in confidence because the nature of an artist is too be vulnerable and show the world something you’ve made while being ready to be critiqued over it.

So I guess I am confident in that I am willing to make something regardless of what people think of it.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I got into glassblowing in the summer of 2000. I focused on a type of glass blowing called furnace work where I utilize furnaces and traditional glassblowing techniques. I was a Glassblower throughout my 20s and at the end of the 2000s, I packed up my tools and stopped blowing glass to focus on a career in healthcare.

I spent the next decade working in different forms of healthcare as a registered nurse. It wasn’t until December 2020 that I found myself back in a Hotshop.

At the time I was home with my three small children and needed desperately to get out of the house and create with my hands again. It became very apparent, very quickly that I needed to be in the Hotshop as much as possible.

In the last three years, I have focused on regaining my skill set and growing as a craftswoman and figuring out exactly what I want to make.

My current work is focused on Flora and making large sculptural vessels inspired by flowers. At art shows and markets, I am constantly asked what I do with my vases?

“Should I put a flower in it?”

That question sparked the idea that the vase is the flower.!

I make functional drinkware as well as some seasonal work. Predominantly whiskey, and pint glasses. I’m starting to venture into the world of making awards and lighting as well.

Glass blowing is the most amazing process. To work with molten Glass and take something that is neither liquid or a solid and manipulate it through fire, water, paper, and breath, you are utilizing every element available and it really becomes a magical experience. I love working with this material and in this environment for so many reasons but ultimately the process of creating in such an environment forces me to be completely in the moment. And that is priceless.

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) Consistency,

2) doing some thing, even though you are scared,

3) and grit, and what I mean by grit is getting up and trying again, even when you fail.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Move a muscle change a thought.

That has been my mantra for when I feel extremely overwhelmed in life. What that means for me is getting up and moving my body. Whether it’s doing cardio or taking a walk in nature or doing yoga or even just getting up and cleaning.

I find that when I feel anxiety it needs to be moved and the way you do that is through movement.

Another thing that I found to be the most helpful when feeling overwhelmed is to write down a list of things I need to do and prioritize them and check them off. Lastly, I find that when I’m overwhelmed I need to take a break and do something different. I can then come back to the task at hand once I have regulated my nervous system.

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Sarah Garrard

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