Meet Sarah Rebecca

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Rebecca.

Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have had a pervasive love of art and storytelling ever since I was little. Because of my faith and my deep love of story I always wanted my work to not only be visually pleasing but to engage viewers in such a way that brought joy, made them think, or told a story.

Honestly, I think all artists want their work to resonate in one of those ways. I first started out drawing comics and writing novels, but I soon evolved into illustrating “abstract” works that were often inspired by music. I called these pieces my Drifted Thought Series and to this day they comprise a fair bulk of my artistic work. Alongside my Drifted Thought work I began to explore themes of lore and space, and thus created a series that could be engaged in through games called Galaxy Children.

I crafted an entire species and world which lead to an original card and dice game that I’ve been blessed to see well-received and well-loved in its current community. The body of my artistic work is so vast and varied. I made the jump from simply sharing my work online to selling late in 2013 and it has been a struggle getting it in front of those who would really love and understand it. I have never liked creating for the express purpose of turning profits, but for a few years, that was what had to be done.

It was discouraging to simply draw sellable art to make enough money for basic necessities but such is life. I eventually had to get a full-time job to offset bills, and so my artistic walk became more of a side hobby than my main breadwinner. However, I don’t count that as a failure.

Because my basic needs are met by my day job, my art is free to be mine again; I can create what really matters to me and what I really care about, and it’s freeing not to have to worry if I’ll meet a certain sales goal. I’m happy to simply be able to create and share it with an audience whom it resonates with.

Sales are a secondary pleasure.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My art journey has definitely not been a smooth road. There have been so many ups and downs and twists and turns, and let’s not forget the potholes and blown-out tires. From travel expenses to hotel fiascos, to terrible events, selling my work has never been easy or cheap.

Then on top of financial factors, there were emotional and internal factors such as chronic bouts of crippling depression and Imposter syndrome whispering how I would never be a good artist, how I would never matter, and that no one cared about what I created. There were many temptations to give up and quit; just focus on my day job and forget trying to make an impact with my work.

Honestly, those temptations are still there. But I’m stubborn at heart and when one has poured as much of yourself into your work as I have, abandoning it feels a lot like ripping off an arm.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been lovingly told that I am the busiest creative that anyone knows. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I do tend to have no less than ten projects on my to-do list, on top of my work full-time job as a graphic and web designer in a local print shop. Not sure if that’s something to be proud of, but it’s certainly what people notice about me.

I specialize in digital illustration with a smattering of watercolor when time allows.

My most beloved art series are my Drifted Through Animalia pieces which feature animals in ethereal settings; my Interstellar Olympus series, which are my interpretation of Greek Mythological gods and places; and of course my Galaxy Children universe with its lore book and original card and dice game. My work tends to have bright, vibrant colors and intricate linework that is filled with unexpected details.

I’m not sure if there’s anything specific that sets me apart from other creatives. We all want our work to be seen and loved and heard. We all strive to find the place our work “belongs” and to get it to those who it’s really meant for. I’m no different. And that’s okay. I think it’s important for creatives to see other creatives, not as something to be set apart from but to walk alongside.

Every artist is unique and has something equally unique to give to our broken, messy, beautiful world.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Prepare for failure. It’s not a “what if” it’s a “when” type of advice.

Every person who starts out creating and selling their work usually knows that the path will be filled with highs and lows. Celebrate the highs and embrace the lows. In the lows is when I realized what I really wanted my work to focus on. The lows always hurt, but they can also teach if you have prepared for them. Failures can also hone your purpose and inspire you to persevere in ways a success never could.

I always tell this story whenever an artist asks me for advice on starting out. I first started selling my work in 2013 at a decent-sized event in downtown Phoenix. I was excited and nervous, and I had brought my best work at the time. I put a lot of money down on the event for the space, the hotel, and my product. At the end of the weekend, I had made a whopping zero dollars.

I went home crushed. There’s nothing like taking your first step out into doing something you really want with your work just to have it blow up in your face. But instead of giving up and never trying again, I decided it was time to take the failure and make it a learning experience. I learned what sorts of items to bring, I learned how to design my booth so it was more appealing, and I learned how to market myself and my business.

Fast forward to the same event in 2014. After a year of focused learning and rebuilding and rebranding, not only did I make back costs but I actually turned a profit! But as much as the success made me feel good, I know that the initial failure in 2013 is what really jumpstarted my drive to grow and change and be better. Eventually, the majority of shows I started to do became successes, but the ones that were failures never held the power to stop me from putting my work out there.

In the failures, I even began to notice patterns that caused them, and often times it was a mix of factors out of my control (poor weather, poor event advertising, poor scheduling, etc.). And at the events where traffic was awful and sales were sparse, I turned those into successes by engaging with my fellow creatives who were in the same boat I was, encouraging them, and loving their work because I know how important it is to be validated in those times.

This leads me to my next piece of advice: don’t look at other creatives as your competition. In the creative world, there’s this strange, unspoken code that if creatives with the same type of work are selling at the same event they are in fierce competition and thus can never be friends. That’s a damaging viewpoint to all of us.

Art is hard, and we as artists should be the first to encourage and lift each other up. The fact is, your work and another artist’s work will never be the same. What you bring to the world and what they bring to the world are different, and if your audiences end up overlapping, that’s okay. That’s good, even.

So be kind, be encouraging, and make connections with your fellow creatives, especially when an event goes poorly.

Contact Info:

• Email: starsintheskystudios@gmail.com
• Website: saresai.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saresai/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theartofSarahRebecca
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SareSai