Sarah Bush

Almost all my fine art work is an exploration of the tension between timelessness and impermanence, fragility and resilience, and the physical body and the spiritual self–I find this tension extremely poignant and I like to explore these themes by developing different bodies of work using a variety of media.

Language, text, and poetry are also common themes and elements in my work. I’m consumed with creating work that expresses my thoughts and feelings about ideas I’m wrestling with. Sometimes these ideas are literary, spiritual, or philosophical; and sometimes they spring from artistic formal concerns—the nature of the circle or the affect of a repeat pattern.

Aesthetically, I’m very inspired by the bold totemism and symbolic focus of tribal and folk art and by the flat, filled picture plane of Indian miniature paintings and European medieval art. I believe these artistic traditions focus on the elemental aspects of existence and use art as a vehicle to make sense or make magic–something I strive for in my own work. I am especially inspired by artifacts, old toys, antique accessories, and magic/sacred/ritual objects and images from all cultures because I’m drawn to their emotion and power—and it is this kind of emotion and power that I’m trying to create in my own artwork.

-Sarah