Meet Sarah Mays | Artist, Creative Educator & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Mays and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I decided to become a creative entrepreneur because of the pandemic. I had just graduated from Colorado State in 2020, and the job market was less than stellar, so I decided to take the leap and pursue art full time. I have always been an artist, I had just never taken my art seriously enough to consider it a career possibility, but to be honest, Covid scared me, and I didn’t want anything to happen to me and regret never giving my all to my art.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I specialize in contemporary mixed media paintings and collages. My artistic focus is on the process. I believe what makes us feel abundant in our creativity is being able to show up as our imperfect selves fully. Therefore, I teach with a process emphasis, helping students develop an artistic voice that feels genuinely authentic. My collages and paintings emphasize colorful, imperfect layers, which feel symbolic of the human experience. I became a full-time artist from a combination of luck and tenacity. I have worked hard to develop my skillset and devoted thousands of hours to my craft. But, I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I have had some luck and unearned privilege that many don’t get, and I am grateful for that. I’ve learned that no one can hold me back but myself. I am my biggest critic, but I had to learn to be my biggest fan. Sometimes believing in ourselves can feel harder than jumping out of a plane. Confidence is a skill and one of the most difficult to master. Hearing my students say they felt empowered by my teaching brings me the most joy. I am excited to exhibit one of my most ambitious projects, a large animal piece debuting at the artist studio exhibit this October at the Lincoln Center in Old Town Fort Collins. It is an eight-foot-tall mixed media collage of two giraffes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to eat breakfast at Silver Grill Cafe, and Lucille’s in Fort Collins multiple times. We would have blood-orange margaritas at The Rio in Old Town For Collins for at least one night. Take a bike tour of all the public art in and around Fort Collins. Visit the Fort Collins Museum of Art, and head over to Boulder for a hike or two. I’d take them to the Bluebird district in Denver to check out all the wall murals and have a yummy coffee at Hooked on Colfax. We’d definitely hit the Denver Art Museum and make a stop at Larimer Square. Mostly, I think we’d be outside in the beautiful Colorado mountains, it doesn’t get better than that.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to all the women who think they can’t do whatever is deep down in their hearts because society has told them no, for whatever reason. And to all the young people who might want to be an artist but think art isn’t worth pursuing because it doesn’t matter as much as other careers; art matters, and you can be an artist! Finally, I want to give special recognition to JoAnn Hovland; without her support and kindness, I would not be here.

Website: www.sarahmaysstudio.com

Instagram: @sarahmaysstudio

Image Credits
Image of Sarah in her studio taken by 3 Square Art. All other images copyright Sarah Mays