Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Frey.
Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I moved around a lot because of my father’s job. I was born near San Francisco and then moved to Houston, Singapore, Virginia, Beaumont, Texas and then Houston again before I went to college. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study and do with my life and at first pursued philosophy at Dartmouth. I needed a change and realized I enjoyed art more and moved to San Diego and graduated from USD with a degree in Visual Arts. I realized that it would be hard to become a successful fine artist and wanted to find a way to make art and also afford to be independent and I settled on studying illustration at SCAD. I enjoy making surface design illustrations and patterns because it’s fun to make work that be used in everyday objects. Much of my work is inspired by animals and mythical creatures because I grew up with a lot of different pets such as goldfish, turtles, dogs, guinea pigs, frogs, and now I have a bunny and a chinchilla.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wish I had stuck to what I was passionate about when I was in early High School and didn’t listen as much to what others expected of me. In my sophomore year of High School, I knew I wanted to do something creative and everyone knew me well enough to support that path, but then I moved to Houston and switched schools. Since I was good at academics, my guidance counselor encouraged me to apply to a “prestigious school” and I went just because it seemed like what I should do. It wasn’t until after my sophomore year at Dartmouth that I realized I wasn’t really pursuing the life I wanted. I do love philosophy, but I didn’t want to spend my life writing academic papers about it and I don’t want to be a professor.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an illustrator specializing in images for patterns and surface design. I love to make humorous and whimsical images with animals in them that can be used on surfaces such as textiles, apparel, wallpaper, stationary and pretty much anything you can think of. I think surface design is amazing because having these images on shirts and mugs can brighten up people’s days and make them a little bit more pleasant. For my process, I like to create the line-work in ink to give it a more organic and expressionistic feel, and then I digitally color it. Creating repeat patterns is also very enjoyable because putting the pieces together is like a puzzle.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I have always loved literature and maybe that has helped me be more imaginative and creative with my work and had helped me broaden my horizons. Some of my favorite books include A Confederacy of Dunces, Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five. I appreciate books that can balance serious and deep topics with a sense of humor and I want to write my own someday.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://safrey209674.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: @freynkenstein
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-n-frey/
Image Credits
Sarah Frey
