We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarabeth Post Eskuche. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with SaraBeth below.

SaraBeth, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

As a teenager I was a bit of a wild child. Maybe more than a bit. I began to find a real outlet in 3D Art while in High School, and one of my teachers in particular, Mrs. McPoyle stood out to guide me down the the creative path. I was fortunate enough that my community college had a glassblowing program, it’s truly not common! I got bit by the glass bug, all thanks to the glass professor, Helen Tegeler, who was my mentor, teaching me not only in class but how to work with her in the hot glass studio on her personal work. It was all uphill from there! I had a realization that I could be an art teacher and help to guide folks like me and so I kept on the trajectory to undergrad and voila!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After undergrad at the University of Louisville, under the tutelage of Ché Rhodes, I immediately began working part-time at production glassblowing studios which allowed me to earn time to work on my personal glasswork in the off hours. I was blessed to have two friends from college, Whitney and Carolyn, on the same path as me and we would work together when possible in the hot shop developing our work while we tried to figure out life. Fortunately, I worked at a small handcrafted boutique where I was able to have a shelf of my work to sell. This was an entrance to learning the business side of craft as career. A couple of years working all hours of the day and juggling too many jobs had me reflect on the next chapter of life and I moved to the mountains of North Caroline to focus on studio practices, working part-time with Dean Allison and at the North Carolina Glass Center, while teaching after school art with the Rural Education Partners of Mitchell County.

It’s been very important to me to branch out as a woman to make a name and business for myself, to have my own identity and way of navigating how and what I create, as well as how to work with others and where I want to thrive. Since being a Core Fellow at Penland School of Craft where I was immersed 24/7 in all aspects of craft, I have continued to find and share who I am as a maker and teacher with the world.

My practice can be seen as divided in three categories; sculpture, jewelry, and home goods which includes bar ware. In every facet of what I make there’s an importance to involve vivid color, texture and a sense of timelessness. My sculpture practice is playful, utlizing nostalgia and objects of play, wonderment and levity. The jewelry is about confidence, playing with the light of the environment and feeling unique. All of my cups and more traditional glassware utilize industrial and old technique in a refreshed, contemporary take. It’s incredibly important to me that folks my age and younger value “slow fashion”, that we understand the significance of handmade art and how it connects us to people. High end craft, made by a real person, is so much more fulfilling to hold, to see, and to use rather than filling your cabinets with generic commercial brands.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think society should make it a habit to go to local markets, the small neighborhood shops and see what is being made from the imagination of the folks that are in your community. Slowly building out a small art collection, whether that’s saving up for a year to buy a nice sculpture or saving for a couple of months to buy a handmade glass (by yours truly maybe *wink*wink*), feeds our local economy and truly builds up our culture in a rich, heartfelt, and conscious way.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Sharing. As a teacher, I share and as a maker, I share. All teachers and all makers thrive on sharing their knowledge and passion for what they do. There’s a level of respect and reverence to the material but also from person to person. Artists have to create, it’s a light bulb that goes off and it just flickers and blinks until you make the thing! Once the thing exists, you show others and they get to see all that energy that is bubbling inside and pouring out of you. It’s a real honor to share and have other people be interested in the materialization of that energy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarabethpost.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ultralit.sb
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ultralit.sb

Image Credits

Cleveland Institute of Art, Emily McBride, Lindsay Davis, Garrett Wareing, SaraBeth Post Eskuche, Penland School of Craft