Meet Sage There She Is | Artist/Creator/Restaurant manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sage There She Is and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sage, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
There’s this conception.. that as an artist, or as a creative, you have to destroy any normal work life balance in order to pursue your artistic dream.

As an artist you need to be locked in your room creating all the time in order to be taken seriously. If you have the creative push.. you abandon all else to pursue it.

I was raised with the romantic fantasy of the artist as a tortured individual, usually obsessive compulsive who needs to create in order to survive.
Well, I’m not exactly that individual.
I fall short in many of the tortured artist category.
I NEED to create. That is why I KNOW I am an artist. I NEED to do art in some way shape or form in order to keep sane. I’ve been doing it since I was a child, and I will do it until the day I die.

However, I’ve always had a day job, and sometimes I have gone months on end without creating.

When I was younger I would beat myself up about this..if I hadn’t created in a week, I would become angry and frustrated thinking I was a hack or not an artist.. or all these creative ideas were being missed.

I would always come back to it.. and sometimes I would notice that I would come back stronger or with better ideas!

The older I get, the longer I live, I know that there will always be times you need to take a break from creating. Sure, there are obsessive compulsive types out there.. maybe they have picked up art as a creative outlet that curbs them from a previously less productive obsessive lifestyle. But not all artists are trying to escape, some of us are just creative.

I know that walking away from art for a month isn’t detrimental to my career. And yeah, I still call it a career even with a day job. You can work, you can have family time, you can go on vacation and you can still work on art.

In these modern times with social media it’s hard because we feel that as artists, we have to keep showing we are creating in order to be taken seriously or valid. So artists make more quick pieces, things so they have something to post everyday. It gives you more social media validation than quietly working on a piece at home over the course of months.

One thing I’ve learned as I’ve aged is that I need time to let my creative brain rest just as much as I need to use it. The artistic process can be like waves in the ocean.. and being able to step back and look at that ocean can very well be beneficial to the next thing you create.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Everyone wants to hear the success story of the artist who now fully supports themselves as an artist, lives comfortable by the beach and never has to do a commission again.

That isn’t my story. I have been working on art my whole life and I still have other jobs to keep me afloat. The challenge is accepting that sometimes you can’t be just one thing. Some people have to be more than one. I’m an artist, a wife, a restaurant genera manager and a free spirit.

My art reflects not being one thing because I use so many different media from painting to sculpture to construction. My imagery is everything from portraits to animals to food and buildings.

I am here to make and create and try and share those creations with as many as I can.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live in Las Vegas.

That can be a tricky one for here. In a city made for tourism, it makes finding the gems even more exciting!

Definitely a stop to the arts district to check out murals and galleries is a great thing for the artistic type.

Spring Mountain is our go to area for food.. especially if you enjoy amazing izakaya.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband and fellow artist You Killed Me First.

I have always been a loner. As a creative it has always been something I do alone. Until I met this man. We joined forces to create music together but got caught up in visual arts. In fact, art in a lot of ways is our children.

Art has been a joint project that we have taken on together. Although we create very different types of art, we have been there to support and help each other learn and grow.

I’m lucky to have partnered up with some one who is different than me. His creative process comes from such a different place than mine and I have learned so much about my own process by watching him.

Having creative partners is something I would highly suggest the loner artist to try. Learning to trust in others and share and learn because you KNOW you both can benefit from it is the best experience ever.

@youkilledmefirst

Website: www.cult33.com

Instagram: @theresheisart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresheisart/

Youtube: Sage Sage

Image Credits
@theresheisart