Mix the Mexican cultural influence of my South Texas upbringing with my Czech heritage, love of quilts and needlework, and the importance of family and community in my life and…my Mexi-Czech style evolved as a way in which I could share my own story by my choice of painting style. I have learned how much fuller my life is when I cross cultural barriers of heritage, race, geography, social-economic status, education, age, and beliefs to get to know others. Yet living within a community with a common purpose and/or beliefs is where we are able to live most passionately. Because a quilting bee reflects this tradition of a community coming together to share life (whether a family, extended family or an extended community), I have chosen to incorporate references to quilts in my work. Since I enjoy sharing visual stories, and I have been painting for a number of years, I also have a body of works that I have created in other styles.

“My goal as an artist is to communicate through my work in a way that leaves the viewer wanting to know ‘What fuels her life?’” Expressing herself through art and creative endeavors has been a part of Sarah’s life since childhood—leading her as an adult to first to pursue a BFA in fashion design followed by a brief career as a children’s dress designer and production manager. Yet Sarah found her analytical side beckoning, so she earned an MBA and then focused her professional efforts on marketing communications for over 15 years. Working with several non-profit organizations in Boston revealed to Sarah how she could share stories through visual art. Thus, she began in earnest her journey out of corporate storytelling and into art as a career. Although Sarah now enjoys living in the Denver area, her South Texas roots and Czech heritage are still evident in the style of some of her work. In other pieces, Sarah’s looser painting style is influenced by her first painting love—watercolors, which she first developed as a teenager studying art in San Antonio. During the 17 years Sarah lived in Dallas, she also learned to work in underglazes on ceramics and to weld, both skills which continue to foster her creativity and art. Education: MBA, Southern Methodist University BFA, University of North Texas Exhibited Works: Juried members show, Fall 2004 Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA Juried show, December 2000 Lynn Arts, Inc., Lynn, MA Fall 2005 through Spring 2008 Lookout Mountain Community Church, Genesee, CO