Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Holloway Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Art College to follow my passion and learn my craft. My Nana was very creative, a piano teacher and an artist, I have very early memories of the smell of oil paints and turpentine that graduated into a sketching obsession. But it was Art College that really pointed me in the direction of trying as many creative processes as I could in a short time.

I’m still learning ! Art is a wonderful, crazy, non direct journey .Taking 18 years off to raise my children, probably didn’t help my progress but I’m very lucky in that I can still take classes for my craft, mix up the disciplines, envy at exhibitions, and use my day to day life to feed my passion.

An open mind and a confidence in my drawing skills probably my most valuable skills. Art College can be intense environment in which to learn.

Money ! I was a poor student, but I had a low cost lifestyle and I could sell my work at the end of my college career to pay off my debts.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a British artist, raised in the Yorkshire countryside and transplanted to the Texan hills. A childhood filled with pigs, cats, horses and orchards led me to a deep love of all things Mother Nature. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing or painting. School honed my passion for creativity and I took that passion with me to Art College where I studied Textiles and Stained Glass. Working and studying in an enormous melting pot of people, talents and disciplines, art college led me to freelance work in murals and environmental design at London Zoo, that job then led me into product design in the British Ceramics industry. Sarah Holloway Smith Fine Art is a collection of unique hand-made artwork inspired by all of those experiences. I’m a mixed media artist who makes one-off creations inspired by the beautiful environment around me, illuminated by the bright, light days of endless Texan sunshine. My work is a mixture of pencil, paint, fabric, paper of all kinds, hand made stencils, charcoal and ink on any substrate I think will make an idea work. I’ll try any means possible to get the ‘look’ or ‘feel’ of the idea in my head, translating reference into an optical ’embroidery’ of line, texture, color and shape.
I’m very proud of my passion for learning more about what I do and a commitment to turning that passion into tangible pieces of art. I’m most proud of the creative progress I’ve made since I launched my website, that my work has become more individual and more unique as I’ve developed my style through practicing my craft.
Art is very personal, my pieces are varied, unusual and I hope full of light and love.

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

Making folk smile. We know that Art is a healer and that it distracts from the daily grind, it also has the power to intrigue and amuse. I have had so much positive feedback since I started to offer my work to Galleries ( and the world). I happily work in my studio daily and though I am creating art for others to appreciate, making art to please others’ is never on my mind. I love the process of turning the images into my head and transforming it into something ‘real’. I love the idea that others want to take my work home with them, to brighten their lives and make them smile.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I’ll be honest, everything I know about SM is from my very savvy kids. The digital world has made it so easy to share creativity. It’s an incredible tool to show work to others and get feedback. I learned how to hashtag quickly. Be inventive ! be bold! I try to think around my creativity and share it as widely as possible but I’m selective. My ‘art SM’ is totally dedicated to creativity, I have learned to follow quality artists/galleries/institutions and always follow-up that enquiry. I’ve made mistakes but I’ve learned from them. Serendipity is a thing. Nothing ventured nothing gained and be proud of what you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarahhollowaysmith.com
• Instagram: @_sarahhollowaysmith_
• Facebook: Sarah Holloway Smith.
• Twitter: @SarahSm20505

Image Credits
Rick Wells Photography. Dan Fritz Photography.