Meet Sarah Arace | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Arace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what inspires you?
I’m inspired by the gritty truth, the people who assist others without having to video the “good deed”, and those brave enough to be “imperfect” in this glossy society.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My journey has definitely been a long and winding road. From a young child growing up in an Appalachian lower middle class family I knew I wanted to be an artist. But, as I reached preteen age teachers and family would say “art can’t be your main job,” and EVERYONE had to say “an artists work isn’t worth anything until they die”. But deep down I knew better. In high school, I made some poor choices that detoured following my “dream”, but after graduating and earring my associates in business I shot for the moon, and was accepted into Savannah College of Art and Design. However, being a single mom in art school isn’t the same as business college. I dropped out after one year and moved back to WV with my tail between my legs 3 yers later. After lots of work on myself, I started taking art classes at the local museum at night. Watercolor, figure drawing, and portraits in pastel. The fire was stoked and at 29 I started a new goal, and that was to BE A FULL TIME ARTIST. Thirteen years later and I made enough to file as a full time artist on my taxes. Not going to lie, some months are harder than others, but I love what I do and can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For Art & History – We would hang out at the Cheekwood estate and gardens, the Tennessee State Museum, and the Frist.
To eat and/or drink- my best friend can dress up and also rock joggers and a bun. So we would run the gamut. Twilight Tavern, Greenhouse Bar, Henrietta Red, Pig and Pelican, the Batters Box, Sunflower Cafe, Jack Browns Burger, Fattoush Cafe, and Frugal MachDoogal to stock up on wine/booze for the week.

For entertainment and body – Chestnut Hill Yoga, walk around Hillsboro Village and catch an independent film at the Belcourt Theatre, Centennial Park, and check in with my singer songwriter friends and watch them perform (usually on 2nd Ave and Lower Broadway).

For Soul & Spirit- We would visit Jeff Crawford who is a local shaman.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The city of Nashville or more specific – the people here. After a few weeks I KNEW I BELONGED.

In 2011 I started meeting other creatives while working in the bars and restaurants at night and going back to college during the day. I also met my husband Ed. He was defiantly the person who gave me that final push to be a full time visual artist. After attaining my art degree he suggested that we turn the guesthouse into my personal studio and things started happening after that. Ed is the first person to come into my world and understand the artist life.
However, the village (I left in West Virginia) of friends, mentors, therapists, and low income assistance programs need some credit too. This cocktail of compassion kept me from becoming a statistic that so many others fall trap to in the place I grew up.

Website: http://www.saraharace.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_arace_artist/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.araceartist

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQT9uf8tOXj9jdQuFpA_zwg

Other: https://linktr.ee/saraharace

Image Credits
all my work