Today we’d like to introduce you to Sachi Rome.
Sachi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Welcome to Adventures in Sachi Land. I am a true Atlanta native, an AtLien, a Grady baby, who also happened to graduate from Grady High School. I am an identical twin to an artist, Tokie Rome-Taylor. My mom has two sets of twins. As kids, my sister and spent ridiculous amounts of time, reading and watching PBS. My love of art started at a very young age. My days as a child were spent with “How to draw books” and early Saturday mornings watching sessions with Bob. I was fascinated by Bob Ross, with his soothing voice and magic filled brushes, as he created brand new worlds on canvas. He planted the seed of me becoming a painter.
I studied Art Education at Morris Brown College and have been teaching art for over 19 years. I love teaching and have spent countless hours helping young artists find their confidence and voice. I am currently the Fine Art Department Chair at Atlanta’s historic Booker t. Washington High, where Martin Luther King Jr. graduated. This history, as well as the history of past and current African American artists, is a critical component of my educational practice. As a practicing artist, I share with students the vision that artists can look and come from the community that they live in.
After getting divorced seeven years ago, I made the choice to focus more on my personal artistic practice as a form of therapy. The joy and pleasure in drawing and painting for myself was fresh air in my life. The imagery and process of working in paints, and collage gave my life fresh roads to travel and opportunities I could never have dreamed of.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about being a single parent of two kids and working a full-time job is easy. When you add the layer of the need to create and dedicate yourself to the calling the art has become. Life gets just that much more complicated. I do not let the little things get me down. My house is not going to ever be perfectly organized. I will check homework but yea, we had takeout so I could work on a proposal or do some research. My creative life, whether it’s getting work ready for a gallery show or work on a mural in the city. It is for a purpose and my boys understand that. The teamwork of balancing family, work and my creative side is something that is constant. There is joy in the juggling because I am doing something I love.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am the proud owner /artist of Sachistudioart.
I create fine art and murals. My most recent large mural piece is on the Westside trail as a part of Art on the Beltline. My work is a reflection of my obsession with color and the human face. I love the connection of face, color, and texture. I am currently exploring the concept of objects and memory through collage and portraiture. I also have an ongoing series of abstracted figures. The two bodies of work are connected along the same lines of history, resurrecting memory and ancestry. The abstract series is called “Anything but Brushes”, were I create using everyday objects like combs and cardboard, as my tools. The deviation from standard brushes helps me express with a level of energy the I hope the viewer connects to.
I briefly studied under the critically acclaimed African American artist Louis Delsarte. I am a painter and mixed media artist exploring the idea of memory, portraiture and the dignity of using and giving new life to discarded things. The use of Bible and hymnal pages from my grandmother’s collection are a driving force in many of the images I create. I move from abstract to figurative in an ever-changing journey to create portraits of those lost and unknown.
As a native Atlanta, I find that there are not many black women who are currently working in the space of abstraction. I hope to build and grow on the “Anything But Brushes Series” in particular, as a continuation of the diversity that should be seen in visual arts within the Atlanta Arts scene.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance and the ability to do my research have been vital to finding shows, opportunities, as well as learning more about the business side of creation. Also, the ability to reach out to those who seem open to sharing information or suggestions on how I can improve my craft. I would say being able to find your art tribe is really important too.
Pricing:
- Murals start at $400
- commissions for work start at 300.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sachistudioart.com
- Phone: 6785083187
- Email: sachidstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: sachistudioart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sachistudioart/
- Twitter: sachistudioart
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
