Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Hendrix.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
While teaching various church classes, I tried to make learning fun with art, including puppets, God’s Eyes, and paper sculptures. I felt the call to be a special education teacher and received an MS from Georgia State University. During my early teaching years, I enjoyed drawing but had little time for creating outside the classroom. Incorporating art into my lessons, I designed a “following directions” project with a dragon puppet made from a paper plate. It was a class favorite.
Teaching at an art and science magnet high school in Sandy Springs, the students’ work inspired me to take Beginning Drawing at the nearby Spruill Art Center. I thought that this class would require only paper and pencil. However, in my first class, I was introduced to the charcoal, erasers, and other drawing materials which would become part of my artistic repertoire.
While continuing my artistic studies, I became a certified yoga instructor and found mindfulness could be applied to my art. Through mixed media, I began using yoga poses, symbols, and Sanskrit in my work. Later, I added doshas, chakras, and techniques gained through meditative practices to my pieces. Visits to an ashram inspired me to include prayer flags and other symbols.
Please tell us about your art.
I want to evoke Mindfulness. The viewer should be pulled into the piece and pause. Meaning is planned within my work. Colors are interpreted via Chakras. The Sanskrit comes from the Compassion Chant. I work on square papers and canvases to represent the Earth. Abstract mixed media allows me to vary my marks and surprise myself.
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
There is a place for political work. Picasso’s “Guernica” comes to mind. Other artists have political voices addressing such topics as gender equality, gay rights, and civil rights which I appreciate and encourage, but I do not invite this work into my consciousness.
I try to cope with upsetting events by promoting peace and mindfulness through my work. Friends tell me that they listen to NPR while painting, but this would not work for me. I must clear my mind. Creating is meditative for me, but sometimes world events persist. I find small works useful for addressing concerns and then moving back to stillness.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
www.mindful-art-by-sara-hendrix-com
Facebook: Mindful Art by Sara Hendrix
I am currently preparing for my November show at Art House in Grant Park.
https://www.myart-haus.com
You can, also, view my work at shows sponsored by
Dunwoody Fine Art Association
The Atlanta Collage Society
The Roswell Fine Arts Alliance
and The Women’s Caucus for Art of Georgia
You can support my work via feedback on Social Media, and attending shows.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mindful-art-by-sara-hendrix.com
- Facebook: Mindful Art by Sara Hendrix
Image Credit:
JB Terrell
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