We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah May a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I am an artist and I owe much of that to my parents. Truth be told, I was a lucky kid, I hit the parent lottery for sure. While my parents are not artists by profession, they paved my path in creativity. Even more, my mother and father gave me the gifts of compassion, generosity, learning and adventure. They taught this through their words but more so their actions. My father was a skilled dentist who genuinely loved his profession and more so, his patients. He had a bedside manner to put you at ease and was consistently honing his craft and knowledge. My mother is an activist and avid journal writer who also has an eye for creating a colorful home filled with a myriad of art. They fostered my love of color and art and taught me to see creativity in various forms. More than this however, I watched my parents use their passions and expertise by volunteering their time and resources to numerous organizations. The one that remains vivid in my mind is their time with the Indian Health Service. My parents would travel to various reservations in order for my father to give lectures to the dentists in the morning and hold clinics in the afternoon for patients. These trips held an openness to learn other cultures, to give of their knowledge and explore new places and beliefs. As their daughter, what has remained with me is the way in which my parents would give of themselves and their knowledge. It was always clear that whatever skills and talents one possesses, you can use them to give back, to help others, to set you on explorations. As an artist, I want to convey beauty and color and joy but moreso, I want to spread messages of the virtues they’ve instilled in me; compassion, generosity, learning and adventure. These are gifts we can all pass on to one another.

Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sarah May and I am the artist behind Block21Prints. I am a linocut artist and illustrator who loves colors, sweet animals, kind sentiments, whimsical graphics and all of the paper products out there in the world! It has been quite the journey to get to the point I am today and I know I still have a big adventure ahead to continue growing my skills and business. I am a wife and a mom to two and have been a public school art teacher for 26 years. I have been building my business, Block21Prints, in the margins of time, little by little. As I was earning my masters degree in art education in 2000, I rediscovered my love of printmaking, specifically linocuts. I have been carving and printing ever since. Building on a foundation of past attempted art business ventures, Block21Prints was established in 2017. The business emerged when printing a small linocut onto a t-shirt for my then young daughter. I clearly recall my excitement of seeing the tiger image pressed onto the cotton and thinking, “that’s my artwork on clothing!” For years, I have carved blocks and hand printed images onto tees, tanks and hoodies as well as cards, bags, notebooks, really anything that would stay still long enough for me to leave my mark. My restless creativity has seen me printing on wood, shrink plastic, art panels, adding color with paint, markers, fabric and just not sitting still. My art, processes and products that I offer have evolved as I have acquired new skills and have surrounded myself with inspiring and supportive artists. I continue to carve and print original linocuts as the basis for my craft, which I believe gives my work a distinct feel. I love combining my carvings with illustrations and surface pattern design to offer products like stickers, gift wrap, washi tape, greeting cards and “flair,” (think pins, keychains, etc…). Through my art I aim to cultivate creativity, promote kindness and embrace mindfulness. The whimsical and playful nature of my work paired with the genuine desire to spread an authentic message of compassion and spirit defines my art’s characteristics.
I am proud of the progress and the progression of my art journey. My style and mission have unfolded and developed to match the person I aspire to be; a creative soul who aims to spread joy, uplift and pass on kindness. I am honored to have heard from people that my art makes them smile, that it adorns their homes and that it is a vehicle for spreading goodwill.
To be an artist is an emotional and difficult road to travel with uncertainties, self doubt and often, not seeing traditional successes. However, being an artist is about having an internal call to action. It is an innate need to create, to feel, to share, that cannot be suppressed. I am proud that I have heard that voice within, that I continue to show my art to the world and that I am hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think most “non-creatives” (though I do believe we ALL have creativity within us, it just manifests in a variety of ways) do not understand the amount of failures and mess ups it takes to become an artist and the amount of will it takes to continue creating. Non-artists believe creating comes easy. Yes, there are people who have natural and unbelievable inborn drawing abilities but that is not all artists. I am one of those artists who has had to truly learn to draw, who has practiced and practiced and has, and continues to, work through failure. As audiences, we see peoples finished products- a musician’s song, an athletes winning play, an actors film award, a completed painting – but what we do not see are the years of crumpled paper, of misses, of not getting roles, of rejections. We see successes as instant and “overnight.” That is not the reality, it is failure that is the consistent as is the determination. So often, people are afraid to make mistakes, to fail, to not be good at something, but that is exactly how it all starts. What makes a person successful in any field, is their drive to keep failing until they succeed. Artists mess up, they problem solve, they come back again and again until it matches their vision. It is not instant, it is not easy but it is amazing to work through all of the detours and wrong turns and to hopefully enjoy the exploration along the way. To see the finished work and to put it out into the world is both terrifying and incredible. Nevertheless, artists do not sit back at the completion of a work, their need is to continue the process over and over again. To be an artist is to embrace failures and celebrate our accomplishments. It is to be humble, vulnerable and also to be brave.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The missions driving my artistic journey are to encourage people to embrace their own creativity, in whatever form that may be, and to be nice humans. I want to promote creating as a tool to be reflective and look within, to use it as a conduit for self growth, for spreading kindness and to simply slow down and have fun. To make art, to use colors, to play, it is a source for positive mental health. I want my art to make people feel peaceful, playful and secure. I want to share my ups and downs and the benefits that creating can provide, regardless of abilities or finished products. I want to encourage others to reconnect with their childhood spirit in order to find bits of relaxation, of joy, of calm. Creating is a way of connecting with oneself but also with others, it builds community, support systems and is a vehicle to spread grace.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Block21prints.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/block21prints
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/block21prints

Image Credits

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