SaraGayArt

Art has always been at the core of my being. My art brings me more joy than I can ever explain. Unfortunately, in my generation, especially because my parents were each in traditional professions, and also because I was a female, I was dissuaded from my early art studies and aspirations and guided, instead, into teaching. I had a long and satisfying career, in which I infused the arts into the curriculum and the classroom environment. A teaching career was paralleled with raising two remarkable and now successful daughters who make me proud every day – and one has made me a grandmother of two, which is an extraordinary gift.

It was always clear I had a creative view of the world in the unusual ways I decorated my homes, styled my wardrobe and regularly visited galleries and museums, near home and in my travels around the world. It was only after retirement from teaching that I was free to pursue my dream of becoming a more fully realized artist. I started by studying stained glass creations and fine welding right after an early retirement. Moving later to Vermont, I became active in the artist community, in which I continued previous endeavors while also doing a deep dive into beading semi-precious and precious stones, creating unusual earrings, bracelets and necklaces which were displayed in Vermont galleries, museums and couture stores, as well as exhibited for sale at arts and crafts fairs in both Vermont and New York.

Over the years, I added creations in rubber and other unusual materials. For example, since returning to live in New York City, I have studied other mediums, like polymer and twisted wire in classes at the 92nd Street Y, expanding my jewelry designs to incorporate these materials, while also delighting in "zhuzhing" clothing and accessories which I have added to my creative inventory. I am always extending my artistry into jewelry and accessory design in which my art can find full expression. I consider my work part of the Advanced Style Movement.

In New York, I have connected with an artists' community in which I find mutuality and unconditional support. For example, a recent video interview and portrait sitting with famed artist Devon Rodriguez not only led to a substantial viral bump for both of us, but the start of a beautiful friendship. This generous and extraordinarily talented artist has mentored me, and shared with me a community of other talented people who are eager to promote what I do and why I do it.

What I also appreciate in Devon is his refusal, like mine, to see age as a barrier to creativity. Women like me, with white hair and in their 70s, can easily become "invisible" to younger generations. I am fiercely determined to be "out there," visible and always creating. Devon Rodriguez, and too many others to name here, understand. More than anything, I want to be an artist not only NOT to be overlooked because of my age, but also to be welcomed and counted among an amazing artists' community.