Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Mills-bailey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sarah, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
My creative blocks come, almost exclusively, when I’m painting/creating with the approval of the outside world in mind. Over my career, I’ve learned that I do my best work when I don’t create for accolades or popularity. I create for me, to make my soul sing, while expressing fully and completely my raw life experience. When I allow myself the space to seek beauty amid chaos, I let go of the outside world’s opinion of me and my work. In this place, I can contribute light to this life without taking from it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I was born in New Orleans during the 1970s which infused in me a love of life, music, creativity and community. Tourists tend to associate New Orleans with hedonism, but the true unfettered experience there is creativity. From early childhood I was soaking in the street performances and art installed on the Jackson Square iron fence in the French Quarter, while eating beignets and feeding pigeons. The unexpected was everywhere, from tutu man running in the yearly marathon to Ruthie the Duck Lady meandering through the Quarter with her duck following behind, and of course Mardi Gras with its costumes and dancing in the streets! Starting out life in New Orleans is like a fairy godmother sprinkling a blessing of gusto over you in the cradle.
My upbringing had the effect of developing a mindset of eagerness to pursue my interests as I discovered them, not to meet expectations but to be myself. From studying science at the graduate level, to trusting my intuition to transition to being a stay-at-home mother, to working as an artist with textiles and then canvas . . . I’ve spent my adult life pursing my interests without the fear of outside approval or disapproval.
My artistic career started in 2010 with my love of textiles and has transition, over time, to paint and pastels on canvas. After years of focusing strictly on textiles or canvas, I am embracing my love to create. My days are now spent either painting, sewing, baking or making tallow. My tallow skin care products were met with such welcoming arms of my community that I opened a new company, Moon Lake Tallow (www.moonlaketallow.com).
My family and I have a long-time connection to Mentone, AL. atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Generations of our family have spent their summers in Mentone and we are continuing that tradition with our kids. We have a hundred-year- old family cabin that is a huge part of our family traditions. Moon Lake is a significant part of the culture in Mentone, AL and it’s our daily reminder of where we are headed and how faithful God is.
Moon Lake Tallow started as a mustard seed of faith as we shifted our focus from the chaos of the world today to a simpler way of life. From making homemade bread, to sewing clothes for the youngest child, to homeschooling, we are reclaiming a slower and family-focused life.
Making a skin product that the entire family could use that was free of artificial fragrances, preservatives, and toxins was important to us. After many many batches of trial and error . . . we created a recipe that is clean, nourishing to the skin, and is good for the littlest and the oldest in our family.
I am a native New Orleanian, former scientist, textile enthusiast, painter, baker, homeschooler, and now tallow maker embracing my love of life and creating beauty where I can, despite adversity.
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. The hardest lesson I learned is that creating for public approval does not inspire me. At the beginning of my career as an artist, I would scour magazines, social media pages etc to see what design trends were popular at the time. Then, I would attempt to paint my version of that popular trend. The end product was mediocre at best and not inspired. Learning to paint as an exploration into who I am and my life experience, wounds on canvas at time, changed not only my paintings but also my experience as a painter.
2. I had to believe that my life experience was worth having a voice on canvas. I have painted through the deep sorrow of losing multiple pregnancies, as well as great joy. I participate in the creation on the canvas, whether joyous or wrenching, without inhibition or stifling negativity.
3. Take a break if needed. Our society has created an ideal of productivity and busyness that doesn’t necessarily align with creativity. I have found that I need to spent time outside in the sunshine, walk, move my body, read etc to feel like I’m living a full human experience and not living an automaton. It is my full life experience that I then bring to the canvas.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
I recently turned 50 and with it, came an unexpected beauty of feeling truly comfortable in my skin and embracing all aspects of who I am in this life. For a time, I felt one dimensional as either a scientist, a mother, an artist etc.
I am a creative who isn’t limited to one outlet. I have agency in how and when I create being sewing, baking, painting, homeschooling or now making tallow products.
Starting Moon Lake Tallow (www.moonlaketallow.com ) is one of my proudest accomplishments to date.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarahmillsbailey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smbaileyart/
- Other: https://www.moonlaketallow.com
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