We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Rafferty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.
Sarah, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I have spent a lot of time over the past few years thinking about this question as starting and running a business requires a lot of positive thinking and resilience. I think it can all be linked to the way I see the world and the daily practice of walking that ignites a sense of wonder and delight into my day, everyday. I do think I have a proclivity to see the glass half full, so maybe that is just how we are wired. I have also noticed that this attitude is really helpful when running a creative business. I started walking in the afternoons, daily, years ago and realized that I always felt better, no matter what, after my walk.
On my walks, I am surrounded by the things that bring me joy. In addition, I spend at least a half hour in a kind of meditation. Walking (without a phone or a anything to distract me) has become a way of sifting through the daily jumble of thoughts and when I do this I find myself full of gratitude for the people and things in my life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Sarah Bourne Rafferty and I am a cyanotype artist based in the Brandywine Valley (home to many artists over the years) just 20 miles west of Philadelphia. It is the land that surrounds me that deeply inspires and creates a yearning to explore and appreciate. I tell the story of my surroundings by creating botanical compositions on paper using the oldest photographic process.
I am an avid walker and believe that the everydayness of walking in nature is critical to mental health and sustained artistic practice. The outdoors is where I bath in inspiration daily, keeping that at the forefront of my creative practice and business.
I am the founder of Atwater Designs, a cyanotype design studio where I create original cyanotypes, fine art prints and paper goods as well as a recent line of wallpaper and textiles. I am also an educator, having spent 15 years in the classroom and have now moved to teaching and mentoring other artists worldwide, on-line. I find working with students to be integral in my own process.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My parents truly let me be me. I think this encouraged me to listen to my own voice to try to figure out what I am thinking and feeling and therefore what I want to say. This has been a quality that has now blended into a skill – to show up authentically, with heart and confidence. I think if you can confidently sit in who you are, you can do anything.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
Frances Palmer – Life in the Studio has been the most impactful read to date for my art business and practice. Simply by showing up as she is, she built a beautiful business rooted in her artistic practice. She inspires me to my core.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://atwaterdesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atwaterdesigns/
Image Credits
Portrait of my Traci Delisser all other photos: Sarah Bourne Rafferty
