Meet Sabine French

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sabine French. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sabine below.

Sabine, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I believe we are each individual manifestations of the “Oneness” that is back of all things. Each of us is a “once in forever” combination of genetics, frequency, and perspective coming from our life circumstances. You are the only “you” to exist in all of time! As a unique iteration, you deserve to “take up space” and you have inherent worth. At the same time I have been influenced by the writing of Matt Cardin who explores in “A Course in Demonic* Creativity” (*using the original spelling of the word daimon/daemon) how our contemporary understanding of “genius” is very different from the historic view when “creativity” was seen as a mysterious, spiritual force with which an artist could cultivate a relationship. By using my art to “channel” (for lack of a better word) the creative impulse, I often feel what artist Philip Guston refered to as “a third hand” guiding the evolution of a piece. Often I am surprised by the outcome. This approach removes the pressure to be seen as “genius” or see my work as an extension of my ego/self. I’m all about showing up for the process; the painting that results is a relic of that spiritual process.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My first creative love was words. After receiving a mid-life Master’s degree with a focus in Creative Writing, my shorts stories received accolades in various conpetitions and my 2009 novella, “Southern Charm,” rose to be a top 200 genre seller on Amazon. My writing journey was interrupted by a mild brain injury in 2015 that left me, among other things, unable to write creatively.
In a frankly desperate effort to cross-train the creative parts of my brain (neuroplasticity research tells us: “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”), I turned to painting —something I’d never done before and therefore there was no pressure to excel. I recall literally “willing” myself to channel what artist Steve Tobin once refered to as “the unadulterated creative impulse,” hoping it would aid my injured brain.
I didn’t want the fact that I wasn’t formally trained in brush work to serve as an impediment, so I painted with my hands —literally pouring paint into my gloved hands and pushing, dabbing, and swooping on layers. Bright colors over-stimulated my recovering brain, so I chose a neutral palette.
My paintings resonated with the people who saw them and now I offer them for sale.
The paintings that result from this process emerge from a state of flow where everything from color selection to paint placement feels “muse directed.”

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three important qualities that have guided me this far on my journey are 1. A commitment to self awareness, 2. Asking myself “How can I make this work for me?” when encountering a set-back, and 3. feeling and exercising my sense if agency.

Are you looking for folks to partner or collaborate with? If so, describe the sorts of folks you are looking to collaborate with and how they can connect with you if they are reading this and want to collaborate.
I’m sensitive to energetics and need and enjoy my solitude, still I long for a tribe of kindred spirits who see and value me for who I am and are themselves commited to integrity, self awareness, kindness, their art, laughter, generosity of spirit, and having each others’ backs in an uncertain world.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Headshot – Doug Ellis (DougEllisphoto.com)

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