Check out Saraiya Kanning’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Saraiya Kanning.

Saraiya, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Art has always organically been a part of my life. My art-making has taken on diverse forms and purposes, growing and perpetually changing. As a child it seemed to be about obsessive cataloguing. It was a way for me to capture and record the subjects I found interesting, mostly animals. Only recently has it become more of an emotional exploration, a way to process and integrate my inner world and the environment around me. Color, texture, form, light, and shadow unite to give an overall feeling or expression, reflecting the yearning, love, awe, or majesty that I’m experiencing. I’m mostly self-taught but have taken lessons and classes here and there. I received some traditional “western” art education by minoring in studio art as an undergrad at Colorado College. Those classes gave me a solid foundation in drawing from observation. I grew up in Colorado, where biodiversity is rich, so birds, mountains, and other wildlife play a significant role in my art.

But I’m an artist in a lot of other ways, too. I’m a creative writer and I play the flute. I received my Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Arizona. I’m interested in how all these art forms are related. Even within visual arts, I love so many mediums: silk painting, watercolor, ink, pastel, charcoal. Medium and genre aren’t things that define my perspective. I pick a medium that fits the vision I have for each specific project. The overall skills for making art are interrelated and transferable across mediums. In 2012, I received a grant to explore the intersection of words and visual art while watercolor journaling at sites such as Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. That was a significant project in my learning as an artist. I was outside almost everyday, drawing and painting plein air, learning about ecology and history, and keeping all these discoveries in a journal.

At one point in my life I wanted to be a biologist, at another a journalist, but a few years ago I realized that wherever I was, whatever work or education I was pursuing, I always just wanted to come home and work on some visual arts idea that had been brewing in the back of my mind. And there was never enough time to be doing those kind of projects. So after receiving my MFA, I took a leap, formalized my arts business, connected with like-minded organizations like The Drawing Studio in Tucson, displayed my work at art festivals, and, most recently, began offering workshops out of my home studio. It’s been so much work, with a lot of challenges along the way, but I love it so much. It feels like planting a garden. You put in seeds and tend to it carefully, guard it from voracious rabbits, make sure it has the right nutrients. Sometimes there are setbacks, but when you finally get those flowers or watermelons, it feels like the work, occasional disappointment, and frustration are all worth the trouble.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I have a variety of styles, mediums, and projects going on at any given time. Right now I’m primarily a silk painter. I paint wearable art (hand-painted silk scarves) and hangable silk paintings, mostly inspired by ecology. I feel especially connected to birds and animals, so they feature prominently in my work. Silk painters use resist to fence-in dye on fabric. Resist can be drawn in lines that separate color. This is called the serti technique and often results in a stained-glass look. My silk paintings often have colorful, bold outlines and vivid dye. My most recent, cohesive body of work features creatures of southern Arizona: a jaguar, a jackrabbit, coatimundi, Golden Eagle, and Sandhill Cranes. They are large silk paintings with a mythical, storybook feel to them; you might imagine there’s some story unfolding in each painting.

I’m inspired by wildlife and their environments, obviously, but I’m also inspired by color and the moods color evokes. I’m always contemplating how different sets of colors might go together and their cumulative effect on the viewer. I have a series in development called “color meditations.” These are 4×4 abstract silk paintings using no resist, only dye and salt to create comet-burst patterns.

I hope people take away first and foremost a sense of wonder. Yes, the world hurts in a lot of ways, but we should love it anyway for all its beautiful and astonishing aspects. There are things worth getting to know, things worth becoming deeply familiar with, and fiercely protecting if needed. I hope my art and the art classes I offer can become a refuge to others. That viewers can find joy or healing as they imaginatively walk into a painting. That workshop participants can experience genuine encouragement, collaboration, and inspiration as they embark on their own creative journey. I’d like to be able to fill up people’s cups, metaphorically speaking, with sincere friendship, curiosity for the world, and vision for the future.

What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
Success is defined by our efforts to contribute meaningfully to our communities, and the possibilities for that are endless. It could include building relationships, it could include providing services, and it could include simply bringing a moment of joy or comfort to a friend experiencing hardship. And art does contribute to community life. Art on walls makes a place more vibrant and accessible. Making art with others tears down social walls and builds bridges that bring us closer. Teaching artists have a special role in bringing the skills of art-making to a wider audience. Learning an art form develops our capacity: how to problem solve, perseverance, commitment, foresight, organization, and so much more. Whether teaching children or adults, the teaching artist is a figure out in the world sharing valuable insights with friends and neighbors, insights about how to do more than just “get by” in this life, about how to walk a dynamic path that’s just bursting with color and possibility.

Curiosity and imagination are essential qualities of a successful artist.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
There are several opportunities:

1. Email to visit my home studio or swing by on open studio days to view all my current artwork, originals, and prints. There’s one coming up September 8, 9:30AM-12:30 PM (drop-in). Email for details and to RSVP.

2. Explore my website and shop around if you like.

3. Take a workshop from me. I list all my courses for about two months out at raebirdcreations.com/lessons. It’s continually updated.

4. Follow me on Facebook (Raebird Creations page) or Instagram (raebird_creations_art)

5. Sign up for my monthly newsletter on the homepage of raebirdcreations.com and keep your eyes open for upcoming festivals/exhibits.

Contact Info:

• Website: raebirdcreations.com
• Email: raebirdcreationsart@gmail.com
• Instagram: raebird_creations_art
• Facebook: @RaebirdArtCreations

Image Credit:
Picture of Saraiya by Michael Kanning

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