Feature Friday: Sara Girletz
Sara is a sweet multidisciplinary artist from Calgary. She is working on a new collection called homebody. And I love this collection for many reasons. This collection represents community. It's built around the motif of homes, and our homes are at the center of our communities. It's where we place our heart, our hopes, our dreams. I recommend checking out her Instagram and her website for more of her work. Now here is more of her story.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your work. Where are you from? What do you do?
My name is Sara Girletz and I am a multidisciplinary artist based out of Calgary. Right now I am developing my collection, homebody. homebody is focused around the motif of houses and includes small scale assemblage paintings, and other assorted home decor items with a unique, edgy, upcycled flair.
What inspires you to do what you do? How did you start doing this work?
During my final year at the Alberta College of Art + Design I hit a turning point when I started using my work as an outlet for the heartache I felt living away from home. From there I explored themes of displacement, memory and presence. In addition, I’ve always been interested in the aesthetic relations between man-made structure and the organic nature of land. In both a literal and conceptual sense, houses have always been part of my art practice.
What inspires you most about your community (city, group of friends, etc.)?
Just the fact that everyone in small business is so supportive of each other. Everyone wants everyone to succeed. I love that there are so many welcoming communities that thrive on offering knowledge and guidance to creative entrepreneurs. Everything from the locally based Calgary group YYC Girl Gang {@yycgirlgang} to the South Carolina-based consulting service Independent She {@independentshe} Being an artist is now seen as a legitimate career path. With the internet and social media, we have all the tools for worldwide exposure at our fingertips. Nowadays anything goes and if you combine passion, knowledge, and collaborating you truly can create whatever life you want.
If you could give anyone who is starting out in your field (business, non-profit, etc.) one piece of advice, what would it be?
When it comes to being an artist, starting your own business, or anything really, you’re going to receive a lot of criticism; both constructive and petty. Listen, learn from, and assess all constructive criticism. Because it’s often hard for us to view ourselves from the outside, constructive criticism is just that supportive third party making observations that you may have otherwise not been able to notice. As for petty criticism: smile, nod and politely distance yourself from those individuals - nobody got time for that.
Tell me three fun facts about yourself or your organization.
- I’ve always been a little bit introverted and growing up I didn’t like to constantly have to take part in group gatherings. I remember in elementary school a girl saying I was a homebody like it was a bad thing. All I could think of was what a beautiful sounding word “homebody” was.
- The first couple years out of art college I had the great honour to travel and show my work internationally in both Ireland and Greece.
- I totally negotiated my scheduled dates to be a resident artist at an art college in Ireland so that I would get to be there during St. Patrick’s Day and drink lots of green beer.
Get in Touch
Website: www.saragirletz.com
Instagram: @saragirletzart
Facebook: @saragirletzart
Direct inquiries: sgirletz@gmail.com
homebody is also available for purchase at Urban Whyte {@urbanwhyte} located in Devon, Alberta.
homebody will also be at the following markets:
- A Vintagey Affair in Calgary {November 5th}
- All Things Pretty Christmas Market in Red Deer {November 18th and 19th}
- Distinctly Nanton Christmas Market {November 26th}.
Do you know of a person, business, non-profit or other organization doing amazing work in Calgary? Tell me about it! Visit the Feature Friday page for more information!
