When I started this blog in October of 2007, I saw it as a two-year endeavor, emulating a two-year Master’s Degree in fine art. The concept was to keep my creativity alive — having made the photography that was once only a hobby into a full-time job, I wanted to make sure I had a forum for non-professional creative endeavors (i.e., explored for their own sake) and a place to document thoughtful meanderings. Over time, the University of Sarah has evolved in many ways – using the term “fine art” loosely at times, other times blending over into literature, and sometimes simply exploring new thoughts and sharing ideas I came across.
In a sense, I have graduated. As much as this blog remains a forum for me to explore, it has grown into a place for me to communicate with my clients about what goes on behind the work itself. My business has grown and changed, as well as my artwork, along with the world at large, which has embraced social media and the need for instantaneous and incessant electronic connection with others.
As a lover and deliverer of stories, this evolution is perfect for me. My favorite part of making art is the immersion in a moment – “nabbing” something, I call it. Being present enough to capture the emotional essence of a moment, whether in hitting the shutter at just the right second or articulating exactly the right turn of phrase, is the most grounding and gratifying experience I know. Now, my nabbings can be instantly broadcast, using the mobile upload function on my iPhone and sending images and thoughts directly to my facebook page.
Someone once asked me what my relationship was with technology. I replied, “I came of age with it.” My mother taught me DOS commands so I could use the word processor when I was 5. I surfed the Cleveland Freenet (pre-internet) and had an email account at age 11, using a dial-up modem. Unlike the generation before, I got a taste of these things while I was still a child. Unlike the generation after, I can vividly remember life without them. I have a unique appreciation from this viewpoint — seeing clearly the changes technology makes in our lives, and being accustomed to the rapidness with which it does so.
While I will continue to utilize this blog for substantial stories, social media has become for me a platform for the smaller, everyday stories that affect my work and my creative process. It seems my inner desire to capture and share has reached a beautiful coalescence with the technology of the outer world, which allows me to create, manage, and address an audience in the exact moment I feel inspired to do so. Some people see me obsessively playing with my iPhone and mistake me for a workaholic or a socialite or addicted to facebook, but the truth is that I am playing out a childhood fantasy of immediate broadcast of my creative captures.
Do indulge me.
Follow or become a fan.
