Sarah Spalsbury
Born in Trenton, Michigan in 1980, Sarah was shy and quiet and very early on showed a passion for art and writing. "I have a stack of really embarrassing sketchbooks from 1-12 grade." Though taking art classes al through high school, Sarah is for the most part self-taught. "They didn't have much of a budget for creativity in my high school, so I wasn't really exposed to many different techniques or mediums."
After a short stint at Eastern Michigan University, Sarah wanted to see more beyond her hometown. After travelling to San Diego, and back and forth from "Downriver" to Ann Arbor, in 2002 she made her way to Norfolk, Virginia and has been there ever since. "For a long time I lost touch with my art. I really wanted to be a writer, and kept moving around and trying new things to get all the experience I felt a writer needed. It wasn't until I decided to make a gift for a friend in 2004 that I realized how much I missed drawing and making things, and how theraputic it really was."
From there she began doing pieces just to fill the walls of her apartment, then starting filling requests for friends. Working with old framed prints found in thrift stores and flea markets, Sarah created her "recycled" art and eventually moved to canvas and acrylic. "I had never even really painted before, let alone on a canvas. I always liked drawing portraits realistically, but I wanted to leap to something completely different."
Her style is still evolving, but the majority of her work is very recognizable and distinct. She also offers prints of most of her paintings. "I don't understand the 6-figure price tag on so much artwork. I like that I can enjoy creating something that someone else will like and your average person can actually afford. I just like knowing that my work is out there being shared."
