September 17, 2021 • 51 mins
Sarah shares lessons she has learned from starting out painting in her garage to the highly acclaimed artist she has become. She looks at creativity as a muscle that you need to exercise in order to sustain your art over years.
Find her:
https://whitmireart.com
Neptune's Ring: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NeptunesRing?ref=shop_sugg
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SarahWhitmire
youTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SarahWhitmire/videos
Instagram: whitmireart
mentioned:
The Diary of Frida Kahlo
Impact Theory University
Please comment with questions.
Please Subscribe!!!
I'm your host, Tony Angelini. Thanks for listening. Find out more at www.creativemindset.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah Whitmire (00:00):
Thinking about creativity as a muscle that
you're building, rather thanjust something that's like,
spark of genius or whatnot isreally was helpful to me. So if
you think of creativity, like amuscle, you have to continuously
show up for an exercise. Youknow. I think that's, that's
(00:21):
pretty helpful. I wish somebodyhad told me that a while back.
Tony Angelini (00:30):
Sarah, welcome.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to talk with me and to the
people who are listening.
Sarah Whitmire (00:36):
I am very happy to be here, Tony, thank you for
inviting me.
Tony Angelini (00:39):
So you call yourself a visionary shamanic
painter. So what does that mean?
Sarah Whitmire (00:46):
It's a great question. Well, I can explain it
in this way. I'm an intuitivepainter. So I never know what
I'm going to paint. When Ibegin, you know, a lot of
artists will plan out, they'lluse source photos, they will pre
draw things on their canvases. Iam very in the moment when I
(01:08):
paint. So I'm connected to avision that's happening. In the
moment, I'm connected to what Iwould call demonic forces, or
animist forces, which is thesort of the belief system that
everything is alive. So I painton big panels of sanded birch.
(01:30):
And I deliberately use wood sothat I can connect with the
energy of the trees and thewood. And the water in which I'm
painting, I use my hands a lotin the paint, especially in the
early stages of my work. If youwatch a painting sort of evolve,
over the next couple hours,you'll see I start in a very
primal way, much like the cavepainters and the early times
(01:54):
used to use their hands orhandprints of symbols and signs
I was here, I was conscious, Imake marks like that really
primal. And then it usuallyprogresses on to where I use
more refined tools like paintbrushes, and pencils, and a
variety of mixed media thingsreally. So shamanic and
(02:16):
visionary referred to the sortof style of not knowing what's
going to happen and beingtotally there and the experience
of it. And there's a sort ofmeditative state that I get in,
where I have to completelyrelease my inner critic and my
ego about the piece, I have togive myself permission for it to
(02:38):
be a terrible piece. You know,it's okay, whatever it is,
whatever comes out, that's whatit's gonna be. And so there's a
huge amount of surrendering whenI go in, and paint and when I
pay, and I always, I love topaint live. For people. That's,
that's part of the process.
That's part of the experience ofit.
Tony Angelini (02:58):
That's amazing.
Wow, you answered about three ofmy questions. Which is great.
But since you mentioned thelive, I do want to mention your
Facebook Live. You do that on aregular basis, right? Is that
weekly or bi weekly?
Sarah Whitmire (03:16):
Yeah, I am live every single Friday night from
nine to 12. Eastern in myprivate Patreon Facebook group.
It's like 24 bucks a year. And alot of creatives come there to
have dedicated space for theircreativity every Friday night.
They, you know, I've gottraditional painters, people who
(03:38):
write people who just want toplay music, anything, really.
And there's this dedicatedcommunity for that. And it's
really, really fun andsatisfying. And I paint these
big pieces there every Friday.
Tony Angelini (03:51):
Oh, that's cool.
Sarah Whitmire (03:52):
Yeah,
Tony Angelini (03:54):
Just because I'm a neophyte to what you're
talking about. You're all doingthis. You're all connected
together and doing it at thesame time, or you all have
different times for creatingyour art?
Sarah Whitmire (04:07):
Well, the we do a live stream on the Facebook
group. So I am showing everybodymyself working on one of these
big six foot by four footpaintings, and everyone else is
in a chat room. We don'tnecessarily see what everyone
else is creating, but they cansee me. And so some people will
(04:29):
put me up on their TV, and thenthey'll, you know, they'll chat
in the chat room with the otherpeople that are also watching
and sharing in the art andworking on creative projects
together.
Tony Angelini (04:40):
Oh, that sounds so much fun. And I like I like
to go back because some some ofthem are on your Facebook page,
right or on your Neptune's ring.
Sarah Whitmire (04:51):
No.So I saw also I run a metaphysical shop and
that's what you're referring toNeptune Ring. So, I actually
have two Etsy shops I haveWhitmire art, which is my art
Etsy shop, and I have Neptune'sring which is my metaphysical
store. And in there I sellcrystals handmade medicine bags,
(05:13):
my husband and I also makemallos medicine bags, wands and
other metaphysical tools. And soI sell those on Etsy on
Neptune's Ring.
Tony Angelini (05:24):
Cool. So it's all it's all handmade stuff.
Sarah Whitmire (05:27):
Aside from the crystals, yeah, yeah.
Tony Angelini (05:30):
Cool.
But getting back to yourFacebook page, I have seen these
Facebook Lives.
Sarah Whitmire (05:36):
Yeah
Tony Angelini (05:38):
if somebody doesn't know anything about you?
Where can they go in and seethese Facebook Lives. In
retrospect,
Sarah Whitmire (05:44):
well, you can't see me live unless you're a
patron. But you can get arecording of what we did in the
live on YouTube. So we recordthem live in our group every
Friday night. And then sometimeduring that week, they go up on
YouTube. So we also releasing aweekly YouTube create with me
video that was recorded livewith the patrons, that's part of
(06:08):
my thank you to them forsupporting the art work.
Tony Angelini (06:13):
Well, I want to say that from what I've seen,
it's these sessions are, arefriendly. And I want to say
chill, but it's more than that.
It's meaningful. It's like,there's something meditative
about watching you.
Sarah Whitmire (06:32):
Thank you.
Tony Angelini (06:33):
And you mentioned getting into a state. That might
be my words. But you mentionedgetting into a meditative state
to kind of get out of themindset of editing yourself
negative self talk, openness.
How do you do that? Is that partof the process of the of the
painting? Or do you do thatbefore you pick up any paint?
Sarah Whitmire (06:58):
That's a really great, great question. And I
have a really fun story to tellyou. So I've been an artist, you
know, pretty much my whole life.
But there certainly has been ebband flow in my artistic career
times where I gave up and youknow, try to do something else
for a while. Eventually, Ilearned sort of the hard way
(07:20):
that creativity is a muscle,much like going to the gym and
working out. I, there was a timewhere I was in a real rut, and I
couldn't paint I couldn't,couldn't just couldn't pull it
together. And I would come outhere my studios in my garage,
and I come out here to mygarage, and I sit under my
(07:42):
easel. And I would write notesto the muse. And I would take my
big piece of wood and I wouldwrite Muse I showed up. And I
would sit there and I would waitfor something to come. But it
didn't. And then the next day Iwould go Okay, I'm going to go
out to the studio, I startedsetting an alarm for myself and
(08:03):
the timer. I'm going to spendthis much time out in my studio
every day, and keep waiting forthat block to to unclog that
muse to show up. And so when Iwould show up again, and I would
take that Canvas, I wrote muse,I invite you in, I would make a
hash mark on it. And then I cameback the next day another hash
(08:26):
mark on I showed up another hashmark on eventually I had hash
marks all over the canvas whereI'd come and sit out there and
waited and like we're like twohours in Okay, I showed up
today, nothing would happen andgo back to the next day. And
then I started making hash markson the floor. And there it
because I ran out of room on thecanvas. It was a pretty
(08:48):
frustrating time for meartistically. But it taught me
to show up for art. And one ofthose days I showed up for the
muse, something happened. And Ijust started painting, I just
saw color. I don't even reallyremember I saw color, I saw
something. And I just picked upmy brush and picked up my hands,
(09:09):
I started getting into thepaint, and a painting came out.
And that was it. And that was mylesson and I've never had a
block again, I just show up. Isay I allow you to be a really
ugly piece if that's what it'sgoing to be I'm just totally
unattached from what this is. Itdoesn't even belong to me. It's
coming through me. And I show upfor art. And so I wanted to
(09:31):
share that with my community andshowing up for art every Friday.
if I can do it, you can do it.
And that's part of building yourcreative muscles showing up.
Doesn't matter how you feel. Youknow, a lot of people think you
got to wait until you have thatinspiration. But that hasn't
been my experience. You justhave to keep showing up and
(09:52):
eventually it'll show up for youand really, in a powerful way.
Tony Angelini (09:58):
Wow, that's inspiring. So what you're
saying, if I can have a takeawayfrom that. So what you're saying
is that in order to be creative,in order to manifest that
creativity, you have to show upand do something.
Sarah Whitmire (10:15):
Well not even do something, but show up and
really be open to somethingcoming through you. And if it
doesn't, that's okay. But showup again the next day, and show
up again, the next day, it'sabout the showing up and being
available for that creativespark.
Tony Angelini (10:32):
So you go to your garage, and you focus on just
showing up, when the paintingactually happened, did you feel
like you were creating somethingor that something was being
created through you, or both, orneither,
Sarah Whitmire (10:45):
I felt that something bigger than myself had
finally shown up, for me. It'ssomething bigger than me
happening through me, you know,like, I really do feel an
attachment to these paintings, Ifeel like, you know, the
paintings have medicine in themfor me, but also for the people
(11:07):
who watch them being created,they have a real story arc that
they go through from those realprimitive, first marks through,
you know, the refining, and thencovering of a lot of them, like,
I don't just go from point A topoint D, you know, whatever, I
make a lot of interesting termsalong the way. And I believe the
(11:27):
paintings belong to the peopleand to anybody that feels
something when they see them orour hangs the print up on the
wall. It's, it's reminding themof their own inner creativity,
their own inner spark their owninner greatness. So the
paintings don't belong to me.
Tony Angelini (11:49):
How did you come to understand the importance of
the just showing up? Muse? Here?
I am? hashmark?
That's a great question. Ihonestly don't really know what
it was, um, you know. I've beenthrough some pretty hard stuff
in my life. And, you know, I'vealways been kind of practical.
(12:10):
So I like to, you know, read alot, and, you know, obviously be
part of ITU and betteringmyself, and, and so I just
thought, Well, you know, if Iwant to be an artist, I have to
make art. And I realized thatI'm having trouble making art
(12:31):
right now. But I'm going to showup anyway. And and I think it
just, I got so frustrated andfed up with this sort of wishy
washy life that I was living,you know, and I was fueled by a
lot of pain and stuff that Ijust decided, like, if I'm going
to do this, I'm going to startdoing this. Let's just keep
(12:52):
showing up and see if we canmake our way through it or not,
you know, and I'm not reallysure what that thing was, that
made me start showing up otherthan the frustration. But
sometimes you have to go to thatdark place. Sometimes you have
to have that sort of dark nightof the soul before you can start
(13:13):
climbing back up. And I thinkthat's, that was sort of it for
me a little bit.
Yes. And I want to point outthat solutions, healing,
productivity, creativity, makingyour life better, doesn't
necessarily follow the darknight of the soul automatically.
You have to do what you have totake action. Right,
Sarah Whitmire (13:34):
right at that frustration level, where you're
just like, you know, we're gonnaeither get it together or we're
gonna choose a different path,you know,
Tony Angelini (13:42):
and you I have a feeling there were some
sacrifices that you made,because you're a pretty busy
person. You and your husband.
operate the shop.
Sarah Whitmire (13:51):
We work hard.
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (13:53):
And you have children.
Sarah Whitmire (13:55):
I have a son, his name's Guardian.
Tony Angelini (13:58):
Oh, I love that.
Sarah Whitmire (13:59):
He's a cool, dude.
Tony Angelini (14:01):
Yeah, man. And, I mean, I heard the weather's nice
down in Florida these days.
How's it been?
Sarah Whitmire (14:08):
It's been pretty rainy. It's been monsoon in
here, actually. But yeah, it'sgenerally nice. I'm in northern
Florida. So we still get somecool days in the winter. I'm,
I'm looking forward to thoseactually. It's a nice time to be
here in the fall. Huh? Yeah, thesummer is pretty hot.
Tony Angelini (14:26):
Well, yeah. So when I lived in Brandon, which
is I lived in Tampa for 10years, and I just couldn't stand
it was 90 degrees from April toNovember, and it had an effect
on me and my productivity and mywhole outlook. Does the weather
affect your work at all?
Sarah Whitmire (14:45):
That's a cool question. I like that a lot. Um,
yeah, it does actually. I neverreally thought about it, but it
definitely does. Um, you know,the seasons definately affects
me. I sort of live in a in aspiritual system where I follow
(15:07):
the Wheel of the Year and theseasons in my own predict my own
profession and productivity andthings like that. So like in the
winter, I try to rest more. Andin the summer I try to push more
and things like that. But Ithink in general, in the fall, I
like to take my work outside asmuch as possible. So that really
(15:31):
changes things. my very favoriteplace to paint is outside in the
fall at like a festival orsomething like that when it's
just me and the easel andthere's people walking around.
And I love being outside thattime of year. And here in the
summer. It's really hot andmuggy, it rains every single
day. So it's not really itdoesn't really work well to take
(15:53):
my pieces out in the rain.
Although I have painted in therain, it's really hard because
the paint drips everywhere. Andit's a totally different
experience. But generally I trynot to paint in the rain.
Tony Angelini (16:05):
That's cool.
Sarah Whitmire (16:06):
Yeah,
Tony Angelini (16:06):
that's really cool. Yeah. You mentioned
festivals, is this a necessarypart of an artist's life? Or is
this something you love doing?
Or maybe both?
Sarah Whitmire (16:16):
Well, um, it was something that it was something
that I was trying out for awhile. Because I do love
painting live. And I wanted totry out all different kinds of
live painting situations, youknow, anywhere from I've painted
that, like tented art festivals,you know, where people are there
(16:38):
to buy art, to more like musicfestivals, where people are
there to listen to music andhave a good time. And I want to
do some more painting withdifferent types of events. Like,
I think weddings would be fun orsome kind of like party
situation. I haven't done thatyet. But I'm open to it. And I
(17:02):
also I mentioned to you before Iwas looking forward to painting
with the local SymphonyOrchestra. That was going to be
a thing we already had on thebooks, but then COVID hit and so
everything got weird. Soobviously, I've been taking a
step back from painting atfestivals and things like that
right now. It is something thatI would like to get back into.
(17:23):
But I don't know if I'm going toget back into it as much as I
was. Before I was painting live.
Every Friday on Facebook, I waspainting live almost every
Friday in our local city anddifferent clubs and things. And
I had a young son at the time,and we were arranging
babysitting, and I was gettinglike two and three in the
morning. And then having youknow, like a kid it was really
(17:44):
hard. So in some ways, COVID wasa little bit of a blessing
because we moved everythingonline. And instead of being out
at clubs and festivals andthings, I was just at home and
then I can you know more easilytake care of my son and I'm
like, in my garage in the homeand when he steps away if he
needs me, like this Friday, Iwas live painting, and he had a
(18:04):
fever of 101 and I knew that Iwould he was right there you
know, so it wasn't like leavinghim with a sitter and hoping
everything is is okay. So familywise it's been really nice to be
here close to home. So it hasits it has its you know, it's
really fun to paint live forpeople. But it's hard to it's a
(18:25):
lot of hard work. I have somefunny, funny stories of
painting.
Tony Angelini (18:33):
Oh, yeah?
Sarah Whitmire (18:35):
Well, you meet a lot. You meet a lot of
interesting people at thenightclubs and all different
types of personalities. And, youknow, I did some live
collaborative like there was onenight, me and my friend Her name
is Carrie Martinez incrediblevisionary artists. Also, you
should go check her out CarrieMartinez. We were painting
(18:56):
together on one of these sixfoot pieces at a local nightclub
called visionary. And sheactually owned the club with her
husband, who's also anincredible visionary artists and
people somebody had gotten sick.
And Kerry broke her toe. Rightbefore we started like a six
hour live pain. She didn't eventell me that she had broke her
(19:16):
toeShe painted for like sixhours on a broken toe. At the
end of the night. She's like,Oh, I need to sit down and like
Carrie What happened? She'slike, Oh, I broke my toe just
before we went live. And it was.
Tony Angelini (19:31):
Wow.Talk about flow.
Sarah Whitmire (19:33):
It was pretty funny. Yeah, it was a it was a
fun night. You know this.
There's just lots of stories andcharacters and interesting
people. There was one nightwhere somebody tried to paint on
the canvas with me just a randomperson. And I had a friend with
me who like dumped in front ofthe brush just as they were
getting ready to just helpthemselves.
Tony Angelini (19:58):
Say that again?
Sarah Whitmire (20:00):
So, I had taken a break from my painting to, you
know, use the restroom orsomething. And somebody, some
drunk person came up and hadhelped themselves to the art
supplies. And we're coming up toput paint on my canvas to just
add to it.
Tony Angelini (20:17):
Oh, man,
Sarah Whitmire (20:18):
My assistant, Kelly was with me. And she like,
no, like, jumped in front of theperson who was getting ready to
apply the pay. And like took onefor the team is like NO! It's
not a public piece.
Tony Angelini (20:38):
Well, what is it about live by live? Of course,
you mean in front of people?
Sarah Whitmire (20:42):
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony Angelini (20:42):
As opposed to in your garage without anybody
around? Right. And there'sadvantages and but how do you do
that? And and can you obtainwhat they call flow?
Sarah Whitmire (20:54):
Yeah, I yeah.
Tony Angelini (20:56):
in front the people and or is it? Does it
help you? Oh, what's it like?
Sarah Whitmire (21:02):
The thing is, you have to be prepared for
funny stuff at any moment,because you can't edit it out.
You know, we were in I was inthe studio once with my friend
Sherry, who comes and does framedrumming with me. And we had
like, done a beautiful littleceremony before we were live, we
lit a candle. And we were in themiddle of the live painting, and
(21:25):
she's strumming and we see thishuge flame, like on a on a it
was a wooden table to likeingulfing, in the middle of the
Live Paint. And so I always havea spray bottle out here, because
I'm using mix video, I grabbedmy spray, but I'm like, one
moment and I go over and Iextinguish the flames. And then
we just go back to painting, andit's just that's part of the
(21:47):
show. In the moment, things aregonna happen, and you flow with
it. And there's been times wherethe Canvas has fallen down on my
head and like funny thingshappen, and you just have to go
with it. It's just part of it.
It's part of the liveperformance, you know. So you
try to be prepared, but
Tony Angelini (22:07):
I'll tell you coming, I'm starting to see a
parallel here. Let me see if Ican put this question into
words. So coming from thetheater, you know, actors have
their lines, you don't know whatyou're going to do. But actors
have their lines in theirblocking. But outside of that
anything can happen, includingwhen you include the audience,
(22:28):
you have an element that youhave to react to, and there's
energy exchanged. And so theyreally have to be in the moment.
So there's not a whole lot ofsitting back and thinking,
Sarah Whitmire (22:37):
right,
Tony Angelini (22:39):
there's a lot of kinesthetic, authentic,
reacting, authentic is the key.
What you're telling me is thatyou can still experience this
feeling of creation, and thisfeeling of being a part of
something bigger than you infront of an audience where fires
happen, and people come up andwant to paint on your, on your,
(23:00):
on your painting, sorry. Butpeople you know, on people want
come up and want to paint onyour car. It doesn't. Yeah, and
it doesn't seem to interruptyour process. So I wonder if
there's a comparison well, tothat and your, your process,
Sarah Whitmire (23:20):
there's definitely, you know, especially
especially for live like outsidemy comfortable studio, you know,
events, there's a priming thathappens, you know, there's a
stepping into who I am when Ishow up, there's a
professionalism that I you know,that I cloak that I wear when I
(23:43):
go out. And I'm very focused andvery focused on why I'm there.
I'm there for the art and thepeople. And those are my primary
focuses. And so if you know yourwhy then everything else is kind
of easy. And I do very much havethe show must go on mentality. I
usually have earbuds in. So alot, a lot of people that I know
(24:04):
that live pain, they go and theysocialize, I don't socialize so
much I show up to paint. I'mthere to perform and to share
the work. And so I get in my ownlittle zone, and I don't, I
don't socialize a lot when I'mpainting I'm hooked into that
flow of creativity that I'veshown up for over and over again
(24:27):
that it shows up for me noweasily.
Tony Angelini (24:29):
We could talk about technique and all kinds of
stuff, but I'm really interestedin what's happening in your head
while you paint and what's inyour earbuds when you're..I'm
trying not to laugh at that.
Sarah Whitmire (24:51):
That's it's, it's an it's an empty now. It
really is. You can't You can'thave too much going on, too. To
really flow you have to be it'svery, it's a meditative state.
It's a trance state. It's achanneling state. It's a, you
know, it's it is an emptying outto because you can't be full and
allow it to come in. I thinkthat's why meditation. I mean,
(25:14):
I'm, I'm a big, I'm for it. Youknow, if people have trouble
accessing that creativity Ithink it's pretty powerful. And
there's not a right way tomeditate, you got to figure out
which way works for you. Butthere's a quiet and a quietness
to it.
Tony Angelini (25:29):
Well, let's say there's something on your mind.
Sarah Whitmire (25:31):
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (25:32):
Just before you paint,
Sarah Whitmire (25:34):
yeah,
Tony Angelini (25:34):
whether it's live or not. And I mean, in front of
people are not something that'sbothering you.
Sarah Whitmire (25:40):
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (25:41):
When you have to show up? How do you clear your
mind? Do you? push it away? denyit? Do you just acknowledge it
and let it be there and let itdrift off? Or how do you have a
technique or a thing thatdoevery time?
Sarah Whitmire (25:57):
Yeah, I have a lot of techniques. If I was
going to kind of sum it up, youknow, like, so, this last
Friday, I was really worriedabout Guardian, I was painting
on Friday night, Saturday night,we were doing the big live sale
on Facebook with Neptune's ring,Guardian had a fever of 101. And
I was worried about him, I hateme having to work when he's
(26:20):
sick, you know, because I justwant to like, level him up and
be mom, but I wear a lot ofdifferent hats. And one of my
values is balance in my life.
You know, my family does comefirst and my work second, but
sometimes, like, you have tofigure out where you need to go.
At a certain point, you know,like, so my, my community knows
(26:45):
that I'm gonna show up Friday, Idon't have an option of saying,
oh, sorry, my kids sick, it'sjust not who I am. Unless he was
really sick. That's different.
But, um, so I'm worried. And butthere's a there's almost like I
draw a line in the sand. So whenI step into my studio, mom stays
(27:10):
in the in the house. And me, thevessel of creativity, who's
sharing the Muse with the peoplethat are here to watch it and
experience it is here for them.
So I have to leave that part ofmyself behind the door. And when
I'm done painting, I'll go pickher back up, and then go check
(27:32):
on guardian and give him loveand kisses and make sure he's
feeling okay. But I have to sortof step into a different part of
myself. And I think we we allhave many parts, you know. So
that's a big part of what I dowhen I need to show up. And I
say, I can worry about thatlater. But right now I have to
(27:53):
have focus on on what I'm doingright now.
Tony Angelini (27:59):
You know, I've got to tell you, this part will
be I won't include this either.
But so part of my way of helpingpeople relax and open up and
kind of be familiar with me isif I share, you know, I have to
share some of me with theperson. It's interesting that,
and I'm talking to the ICUstudent and you it's interesting
(28:22):
that when in the final product,I don't want to make it about me
at all. I just want to be
Sarah Whitmire (28:33):
a vessel.
Tony Angelini (28:34):
Yeah, exactly.
Sarah Whitmire (28:35):
I'm taking your words again.
Tony Angelini (28:37):
Thank you for that. And so every time I use
the word I, I know, that'sprobably gonna get cut.
Sarah Whitmire (28:44):
Yeah, I understand that. I really do. I
mean, that's why I do it. I, youknow, I've been through so much
of my own journey in art, thatsharing it with other people and
allowing them to tap into theirown creativity is my why, you
know, I really do believe thatart saves. I really do. And even
(29:08):
before I painted these bigpaintings, you know, I, I was in
art journaling, and I was doinga lot of like, internal work
with that. And art journaling issomething else I talk a lot
about, because I feel like forme in my own healing journey in
my own life, it's helped a lot.
It's helped a lot. You know, Ithink most people understand
(29:28):
what writing can do andjournaling with words, but not
everybody thinks that way. Noteverybody thinks in words. I'm
one of those people. Like justhaving this conversation with
you can be challenging for mebecause words aren't my jam. I'm
way better expressing myselfwith images. So, art journaling,
for me was a way to put myfeelings down in imagery and
(29:54):
also a few words and cover upthings with pain. collage over
different things. And, and thenit really did save me. And so
now I like to, I like to talkabout art journaling and about
creativity. And it's nice to beable to talk about how I was
able to form that connectionwith the muse. Because I do, I
(30:17):
don't think there's anythingspecial about me, I think that
everybody can do it. And youdon't have to be a traditional
artist. That's the thing, like alot of people think like, oh,
but I don't paint. But we areall creative. We are all
creators, we're creatingsomething. And it's the same
energy flow that you can tapinto to create what it is you
(30:37):
want. You're you're taking anidea, and your brain you're
pulling it through and making itinto a physical form that's
creating your Creator, yourcreative.
Tony Angelini (30:50):
So what is art journaling?
Sarah Whitmire (30:54):
Art journaling is taking any kind of notebook
or sketchbook and experimentingwith paints, experimenting with
minds and words and color. Andusing it as a diary, there's no
(31:17):
rules really, you can use it asa diary, you can write thoughts
you can collage you can paint,you can, you can cut things up,
you can make doorways, you canmake pockets, you can just like
it's in it, what I like aboutart journaling is it's a really
safe place to explore art.
Because people when they paintcourse, these are for the
(31:40):
people, you know, you don'tpaint a six foot by four foot
painting, and not want people tosee it. But when you make an art
journal, when you journal, it'sthis small container that's just
for you. It's nobody else has tosee it, it's safe. And so a lot
of people starting out in their,in their art journeys, you know,
(32:00):
like, they'll try to look at ablank canvas, and there's the
sphere there. But art journalingis a great starting place for
people who might feel timid intheir, in their work where they
can, you know, practice, liketake your supplies out, try out
these cool pens doodle like youdid when you were a kid, you
(32:20):
know, make some marks. Take yourjournal with you everywhere you
go. And, you know, sketch thingsthat you see or write feelings,
and there's no rules to it. It'sjust a mix of paint and paper
and words and anything you wantor need it to be.
Tony Angelini (32:38):
You know what that reminds me of? That sounds
wonderful. I used to buy a newnotebook because I write my
journal. And I'm a writer, and Iused to buy a new like moleskin
notebook. And I had such areverence for the clean pages
and the possibilities that ittook a lot for me to write in
(33:00):
it.
Sarah Whitmire (33:01):
Yeah,
Tony Angelini (33:01):
and kind of defile it. But then I was in a
bookstore and I saw a journal.
And it was entitled wreck thisjournal.
Sarah Whitmire (33:11):
I know that one.
Tony Angelini (33:13):
Oh, you know it.
Sarah Whitmire (33:13):
Yeah, I have one.
Tony Angelini (33:15):
Oh, cool. And the idea is for anybody who doesn't
know is okay. You can have yourgood moleskin journal and keep
it pristine if you want but thisjournal, feel free to destroy it
with with your musing, cut itlike you described a minute ago.
Now that is freeing.
Sarah Whitmire (33:33):
Yes.
Tony Angelini (33:34):
When you know when you lose respect for what
it is, and allow it to becomewhat it will become.
Sarah Whitmire (33:41):
Yes. Well see that that journal gave you
permission that gave youpermission sometimes the fancier
the journal, the harder becauseyou there's like, Oh, you know,
my words aren't good enough forthe beauty of this, this book,
you know, and if I'm going towrite it, it better be like
perfect in some way. So it'sinteresting, I think most people
(34:03):
have a beautiful journal thatthey're afraid to write in
because what they would put init wouldn't be as beautiful as
the journal itself. And I wouldchallenge that I would, I would
say allow yourself to make ahorrible mess of that beautiful
journal like I do allow myselfto make an ugly painting and
(34:24):
it's okay. And you'll probablybe surprised it will be more
beautiful than then youimagined. There's an immense
freeness of working in journalsand you can always cover it up
you know, moleskin also like youcan collage and those journals I
have a whole collection of ofjournals, some of them have been
(34:44):
published in like Somersetstudio and stuff like that of
some of the art journals thatI've made. And you can make art
journals out of anything to youdon't even need an expensive
journal. If you have one. Youshould use it but if you don't
have one, you can make journalsout of paper bags. I did a
series of art journaling videoson YouTube where I was showing
(35:05):
you because it was like duringthe pandemic and nobody could
find our supplies, we didn'tknow what was open. And so I'm
like here, I'm going to show youhow to make a journal out of a
paper bag. And, you know, trashthat. I think I even use dirt
for like ink. So I show justdifferent ways, different ideas,
different things, you can reallyuse the things around you to
(35:29):
make our cardboard works greatif you don't have the canvas.
Tony Angelini (35:33):
Or your YouTube channel is amazing. Where can
people find it again?
Sarah Whitmire (35:38):
It's Sarah wittmeyer. on YouTube. Yeah,
Tony Angelini (35:41):
I have getting back I have a journal that my
daughter gave me for my birthdaythis year. And it's, you know,
it's leather bound. And it's allgreat paper. And it's you can't
refill it. No, I'm having alittle hard time. I'm like, I
have to save that for somethingspecial, right?
Sarah Whitmire (36:04):
Because what you would write in it wouldn't be
special.
Tony Angelini (36:07):
Right? Right, exactly. But I never read the
journal,
Sarah Whitmire (36:13):
you're worthy of the nice journal.
Tony Angelini (36:16):
Exactly what would make this meaningful? And
guess what I want to say is thatI've never regretted wrecking a
journal. I'm going to switchgears a bit.
Sarah Whitmire (36:25):
Okay,
Tony Angelini (36:25):
I want to talk about your community, your
support system, for lack of abetter word. Now, full
disclosure, Sara and I are bothmembers of Impact Theory
University. And Sara and I areactually a part of an
accountability group in ImpactTheory University, just for
creatives. And that's how weknow each other. So tell me how
(36:46):
important this sense of supportis for you this sense of
community, you said like in yourlive feed, you have other
artists that come and watch youand they might write or they
might compose, talk a little bitabout the people that you expose
yourself with, as far asartistic community.
Sarah Whitmire (37:03):
Yeah, community is super important. community
has really saved my ass duringthe pandemic. And I think a lot
of people in our groups, youknow, it's things are changing,
you know, and in some ways, theinternet is really reflecting
(37:26):
our need for coming togetherwith like minds, and like
spirits and creative tribes. AndI think, you know, one of the
best things about the internetis the way that we're able to
connect with people from all allaround the world, and have that
sense of kinship with people whoyou know, are, are from
(37:49):
everywhere. I am super thankfulfor my online communities. I I'm
not sure I can adequatelyexpress. But I know that I've
had letters and notes and thingsfrom people thanking me for, you
know, showing up Friday nights,because even if they don't show
(38:10):
up to create, they show up forthe people that are there in the
groups to say hello to check into, you know, something,
something in your life hardright now, tell us about it,
we're here for you, we love you,you know, I've even done one of
the things I did in my own groupfor sort of building my
community because you have toput energy into your community,
(38:33):
you can't just like build acommunity and expect people to
like get along you like as a asa facilitator of a community,
you have to put energy into it,you have to feed the group so
that people feel comfortablesharing and comfortable with
their own vulnerability andthings like that. And like you
said earlier, that ofteninvolves you being vulnerable
(38:53):
with them first, so that theyfeel like it's a safe place. But
we also did some art swapping,which was really fun and built
the community like there's athing called ATC, which is
artists trading cards. It's kindof like sports cards, but it's
for artists and they havecertain rules, they have to be a
certain size. And it's a way tomake tiny little pieces of art
(39:17):
that you can trade with people.
And so we I talked a little bitabout what ATCs were Artist
trading cards, and a little bitabout the size rules and we all
collage and made little artiststrading cards and and then we
swapped them in the group. Andso people were receiving little
mini pieces of art from otherpeople in the group. And it was
(39:38):
just a really beautiful way tobring the community together. Of
course people you know, we'reall artists too. So people would
send like extra Cool Bits ofpaper and things that they found
is like a beautiful care packageand this was during the pandemic
too. So it was a really nicething to do for people to
receive art in the mail and coollittle things to To journal with
(39:58):
and to make our list and, andthat kind of thing really builds
community and lifts people andit becomes a family Really?
Yeah. And
Tony Angelini (40:09):
how does it affect your work?
Sarah Whitmire (40:12):
Well, it gives me a really big why to show up,
you know, because I genuinelycare about my community. I love
them. They're my brothers andsisters and I want them to
succeed. You know, we all sortof cheerlead everybody and
boosts everyone you know,whatever level you're at, if
you're creating, you're makingsomething, you know, we applaud
(40:33):
that and we support that and we,you know, are just happy for you
and your success.
Tony Angelini (40:40):
I understand the importance of communicating with
people with like minded people.
But these days, there seems tobe a concerned about something
called echo chambers. What's thedifference? How do you maintain
your acquaintances in a positiveway with like minded people
without falling into the trap ofjust being intolerant of people
(41:00):
who don't think like you?
Sarah Whitmire (41:03):
Right? Well, I think you have to have some
people in your life that keepyou what I want to call like
brutally honest, you know, like,you have to, I think it's
important to have a couplefriends that are always going to
be brutally honest with youabout things. And it's good to
have a variety of people withdifferent belief systems in your
circle, it keeps you grounded,it keeps you from having that
(41:26):
echo thing you know, like notall of my friends believe
exactly how I believe abouteverything you know, like I have
different friends that believedifferent political issues and
you know, different ways ofworking with spirit and art and
you know, so I think you have todo a lot of work to ground
yourself too you know, you haveto take in information and read
(41:50):
from different places anddifferent sources and and try to
find I always like to say like,the truth is somewhere in the
middle, I really, I feel likeit's, it's brought the truth is
in the middle somewhere. So youhave to surround yourself with
different people too also isimportant.
Tony Angelini (42:07):
How do you find time to read?
Sarah Whitmire (42:09):
Well, I read for fun. And so it doubles as as
self care. And I like to read itat night.
Tony Angelini (42:20):
What do you read?
Sarah Whitmire (42:22):
I'm reading some reading some magical literature
and reading the Clavis Goetica,which is about cathartic
sorcery. And I'm also readingwhat am I reading? Oh, I just
got Frida Kahlo. My good friend,Nicole just sent me Frida
(42:43):
Carlo's diary. I had no idea.
Apparently, Mexico had her diarykind of under locking key for a
while, and then they publishedit recently. And it's, you know,
of course, her diary was allwritten in Spanish, but there's
translations in the back of thebook, and it's got her personal
like, journal pages where she'spainted and drawn and written
(43:04):
things about Diego and her lifeand her story, and it's
beautiful. So I've been digginginto that. Also, it's
incredible. I had no ideaexisted, but so you make time
for things like that.
Tony Angelini (43:22):
Yeah, you do. And speaking of time, so have you
gone in your work? Have you gonethe gallery route as well?
Sarah Whitmire (43:32):
A little bit,
Tony Angelini (43:33):
you know what I'm saying?
Sarah Whitmire (43:33):
Yeah, not so much. I, I,
Tony Angelini (43:37):
you're quite prolific. And every time I talk
with you, you're more wellknown. Talk to me about the
galleries. Are they useful?
Sarah Whitmire (43:45):
Well, I don't do a lot of gallery stuff. I've
done some local gallery stuff.
It's tricky because, you know,the galleries have their own
audience and the galleriesusually take a big percentage of
your work. And it can be okay.
(44:05):
It's not my favorite way ofshowing art. I always feel like
my arts for the people.
Everybody, you know, it's partlywhy I love murals. And I've got
muralist friends who you know,they make art for the people,
you put art on a mural, it's foreverybody. And I'm kind of I'm,
I sort of dig that kind of art,a little bit more than some of
the gallery stuff. It's not thatI don't do it, it's just that
(44:27):
it's not, it's not my go to. Iwould much rather be you know,
out in the trenches at thefestivals and like, just with
the people on YouTube or anybodywho you know, would enjoy
creating with me or seeing theart being made. So
Tony Angelini (44:48):
who has inspired you?
Sarah Whitmire (44:50):
That's a great question. I have quite a few
people that have inspired me, myvery, very first inspiration. I
grew up in In Illinois, I was aMidwestern girl small town. I
was adopted and doesn't reallymatter, but kind of gives you an
idea of where I come from.
Tony Angelini (45:10):
That's interesting,
Sarah Whitmire (45:11):
My adopted parents were nice people. And my
mom would take me to the ArtInstitute of Chicago, at least
once a year, not twice a year,it was a couple hours away. So
it was a good drive for us. AndI remember I was probably about
(45:31):
six years old when she took meand we saw a Monet exhibit. And
it's the first exhibit that Ihave a recollection of ever,
really feeling. So Monet paintedthese, like eight foot paintings
(45:51):
of his water lily garden. A lotof people know his work, but
they don't really know that he'sgot these massive paintings that
span like sort of a half circlething. So when you stand in
them, you literally feel likeyou're swimming in the water.
They're huge. It's like, it'slike a giant mural of water. And
(46:11):
they had it there, the ArtInstitute, and my mom took me
and I remember as a little girl,you know, standing, looking at
the water and the lilies andhaving this spark, this
inspiration, this thing insideme awaken, like, Oh, you know, I
(46:33):
think that most people have hadsome kind of experience in front
of a piece of art. You know,it's a feeling it's hard to
describe. But that was the firsttime I felt that way. And so
after the museum, I was reallyinterested in Monet, and my mom
was more than happy to buy me abook about it. And she read to
(46:54):
me his story, and I fell in lovewith him. He's had this kind of
like grandpa like, personality,big straw, floppy hats, and his
like pipe and painting out inhis garden that he had planted
himself. I love that so much.
And then in his older years, heactually started to go blind.
And you can see in his work fromhis early paintings to his later
(47:16):
paintings, the frustration thathe had with his work as he
started to go blind, and he hada couple eye surgeries, and
they, they were unsuccessful,and like his colors got darker
and more frustrated. And itreally touched me it really
spoke to me even like as a younggirl, the story of his life and
(47:39):
the struggle that he wentthrough. really impacted me
hugely. And so Monet definitelywas my first experience
withhaving another being sort oflight me up and sent me on my
path. And I have other I'vemixed I have other, you know,
(48:02):
people like I'm really inspiredby David Bowie, elton john, Lady
Gaga, not artists, but they aretheir own rise, of course, Frida
Kahlo, um, modern day peoplethat inspire me, Michael Demain
is amazing. I've taken a coupleclasses with him. I am a self
taught artist. And I've donesome traveling, visiting other
(48:28):
artists and retreats and things,learning different stuff.
Following things that inspiredme, but I'm inspired by fashion
and color and music and books.
great writers. poets. inspireme. Yeah, theater. Yeah. Oh,
(48:51):
yeah. I, I remember going I wentto the trip to London with a
class in high school. And wewent to her majesty's Theatre in
London and saw Phantom of theOpera. And that was man
incredible. I had such anexperience there. So definitely
(49:14):
in theater as well. Yeah.
Tony Angelini (49:15):
Yeah, man, Martha Graham. She said it's, it's
important for an artist toexplore other mediums and see
what other artists have othermediums are doing and you take
that in and it becomes a part ofyou seems to me if you're
painting like you do anythingthat's a part of you is fair
game and just becomes moremeaningful. Would you say?
Sarah Whitmire (49:36):
Yeah, for sure.
Tony Angelini (49:38):
Even that Big Mac you ate yesterday.
Sarah Whitmire (49:40):
I don't eat Big Macs but...
Tony Angelini (49:45):
Well, gee, I could talk with you all day
about this, but I know you'refairly busy person. Yeah, this
has been a lot of fun. So if youhad any advice to somebody who
just is just frustrating wantsto paint and time goes by, and
they still haven't done it. Butthey really, what would you say
(50:06):
to that person?
Sarah Whitmire (50:07):
I would say, find your why. And you have to
schedule time for it. So even ifyou can't like my story, even if
you can't show up and havesomething come through, you
know, show up anyway, andcontinue to show up and have a
(50:29):
reason why you're showing up.
You know, you have to, that'ssomething you have to figure out
like, why am I showing up? Isthis some gifts I have to give
to the world that only I cangive? Or am I doing it for my
family? Or am I doing it for youknow, whatever it is, you have
to find your why. And then youhave to consistently show up for
it and thinking about creativityas a muscle that you're
(50:51):
building, rather than justsomething that's like, a spark
of genius or whatnot is reallywas helpful to me. So if you
think of creativity, like amuscle, you have to continuously
show up for an exercise, youknow, then I think that's pretty
helpful. I wish somebody hadtold me that a while back.
Tony Angelini (51:17):
It is. It is a muscle, isn't it? You have to do
your reps.
Sarah Whitmire (51:20):
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (51:21):
I love that. I'm going to explore that. Thanks.
Sarah Whitmire (51:25):
You're welcome.
Thinking about creativity as a muscle that
you're building, rather thanjust something that's like,
spark of genius or whatnot isreally was helpful to me. So if
you think of creativity, like amuscle, you have to continuously
show up for an exercise. Youknow. I think that's, that's
(00:21):
pretty helpful. I wish somebodyhad told me that a while back.
Tony Angelini (00:30):
Sarah, welcome.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to talk with me and to the
people who are listening.
Sarah Whitmire (00:36):
I am very happy to be here, Tony, thank you for
inviting me.
Tony Angelini (00:39):
So you call yourself a visionary shamanic
painter. So what does that mean?
Sarah Whitmire (00:46):
It's a great question. Well, I can explain it
in this way. I'm an intuitivepainter. So I never know what
I'm going to paint. When Ibegin, you know, a lot of
artists will plan out, they'lluse source photos, they will pre
draw things on their canvases. Iam very in the moment when I
(01:08):
paint. So I'm connected to avision that's happening. In the
moment, I'm connected to what Iwould call demonic forces, or
animist forces, which is thesort of the belief system that
everything is alive. So I painton big panels of sanded birch.
(01:30):
And I deliberately use wood sothat I can connect with the
energy of the trees and thewood. And the water in which I'm
painting, I use my hands a lotin the paint, especially in the
early stages of my work. If youwatch a painting sort of evolve,
over the next couple hours,you'll see I start in a very
primal way, much like the cavepainters and the early times
(01:54):
used to use their hands orhandprints of symbols and signs
I was here, I was conscious, Imake marks like that really
primal. And then it usuallyprogresses on to where I use
more refined tools like paintbrushes, and pencils, and a
variety of mixed media thingsreally. So shamanic and
(02:16):
visionary referred to the sortof style of not knowing what's
going to happen and beingtotally there and the experience
of it. And there's a sort ofmeditative state that I get in,
where I have to completelyrelease my inner critic and my
ego about the piece, I have togive myself permission for it to
(02:38):
be a terrible piece. You know,it's okay, whatever it is,
whatever comes out, that's whatit's gonna be. And so there's a
huge amount of surrendering whenI go in, and paint and when I
pay, and I always, I love topaint live. For people. That's,
that's part of the process.
That's part of the experience ofit.
Tony Angelini (02:58):
That's amazing.
Wow, you answered about three ofmy questions. Which is great.
But since you mentioned thelive, I do want to mention your
Facebook Live. You do that on aregular basis, right? Is that
weekly or bi weekly?
Sarah Whitmire (03:16):
Yeah, I am live every single Friday night from
nine to 12. Eastern in myprivate Patreon Facebook group.
It's like 24 bucks a year. And alot of creatives come there to
have dedicated space for theircreativity every Friday night.
They, you know, I've gottraditional painters, people who
(03:38):
write people who just want toplay music, anything, really.
And there's this dedicatedcommunity for that. And it's
really, really fun andsatisfying. And I paint these
big pieces there every Friday.
Tony Angelini (03:51):
Oh, that's cool.
Sarah Whitmire (03:52):
Yeah,
Tony Angelini (03:54):
Just because I'm a neophyte to what you're
talking about. You're all doingthis. You're all connected
together and doing it at thesame time, or you all have
different times for creatingyour art?
Sarah Whitmire (04:07):
Well, the we do a live stream on the Facebook
group. So I am showing everybodymyself working on one of these
big six foot by four footpaintings, and everyone else is
in a chat room. We don'tnecessarily see what everyone
else is creating, but they cansee me. And so some people will
(04:29):
put me up on their TV, and thenthey'll, you know, they'll chat
in the chat room with the otherpeople that are also watching
and sharing in the art andworking on creative projects
together.
Tony Angelini (04:40):
Oh, that sounds so much fun. And I like I like
to go back because some some ofthem are on your Facebook page,
right or on your Neptune's ring.
Sarah Whitmire (04:51):
No.So I saw also I run a metaphysical shop and
that's what you're referring toNeptune Ring. So, I actually
have two Etsy shops I haveWhitmire art, which is my art
Etsy shop, and I have Neptune'sring which is my metaphysical
store. And in there I sellcrystals handmade medicine bags,
(05:13):
my husband and I also makemallos medicine bags, wands and
other metaphysical tools. And soI sell those on Etsy on
Neptune's Ring.
Tony Angelini (05:24):
Cool. So it's all it's all handmade stuff.
Sarah Whitmire (05:27):
Aside from the crystals, yeah, yeah.
Tony Angelini (05:30):
Cool.
But getting back to yourFacebook page, I have seen these
Facebook Lives.
Sarah Whitmire (05:36):
Yeah
Tony Angelini (05:38):
if somebody doesn't know anything about you?
Where can they go in and seethese Facebook Lives. In
retrospect,
Sarah Whitmire (05:44):
well, you can't see me live unless you're a
patron. But you can get arecording of what we did in the
live on YouTube. So we recordthem live in our group every
Friday night. And then sometimeduring that week, they go up on
YouTube. So we also releasing aweekly YouTube create with me
video that was recorded livewith the patrons, that's part of
(06:08):
my thank you to them forsupporting the art work.
Tony Angelini (06:13):
Well, I want to say that from what I've seen,
it's these sessions are, arefriendly. And I want to say
chill, but it's more than that.
It's meaningful. It's like,there's something meditative
about watching you.
Sarah Whitmire (06:32):
Thank you.
Tony Angelini (06:33):
And you mentioned getting into a state. That might
be my words. But you mentionedgetting into a meditative state
to kind of get out of themindset of editing yourself
negative self talk, openness.
How do you do that? Is that partof the process of the of the
painting? Or do you do thatbefore you pick up any paint?
Sarah Whitmire (06:58):
That's a really great, great question. And I
have a really fun story to tellyou. So I've been an artist, you
know, pretty much my whole life.
But there certainly has been ebband flow in my artistic career
times where I gave up and youknow, try to do something else
for a while. Eventually, Ilearned sort of the hard way
(07:20):
that creativity is a muscle,much like going to the gym and
working out. I, there was a timewhere I was in a real rut, and I
couldn't paint I couldn't,couldn't just couldn't pull it
together. And I would come outhere my studios in my garage,
and I come out here to mygarage, and I sit under my
(07:42):
easel. And I would write notesto the muse. And I would take my
big piece of wood and I wouldwrite Muse I showed up. And I
would sit there and I would waitfor something to come. But it
didn't. And then the next day Iwould go Okay, I'm going to go
out to the studio, I startedsetting an alarm for myself and
(08:03):
the timer. I'm going to spendthis much time out in my studio
every day, and keep waiting forthat block to to unclog that
muse to show up. And so when Iwould show up again, and I would
take that Canvas, I wrote muse,I invite you in, I would make a
hash mark on it. And then I cameback the next day another hash
(08:26):
mark on I showed up another hashmark on eventually I had hash
marks all over the canvas whereI'd come and sit out there and
waited and like we're like twohours in Okay, I showed up
today, nothing would happen andgo back to the next day. And
then I started making hash markson the floor. And there it
because I ran out of room on thecanvas. It was a pretty
(08:48):
frustrating time for meartistically. But it taught me
to show up for art. And one ofthose days I showed up for the
muse, something happened. And Ijust started painting, I just
saw color. I don't even reallyremember I saw color, I saw
something. And I just picked upmy brush and picked up my hands,
(09:09):
I started getting into thepaint, and a painting came out.
And that was it. And that was mylesson and I've never had a
block again, I just show up. Isay I allow you to be a really
ugly piece if that's what it'sgoing to be I'm just totally
unattached from what this is. Itdoesn't even belong to me. It's
coming through me. And I show upfor art. And so I wanted to
(09:31):
share that with my community andshowing up for art every Friday.
if I can do it, you can do it.
And that's part of building yourcreative muscles showing up.
Doesn't matter how you feel. Youknow, a lot of people think you
got to wait until you have thatinspiration. But that hasn't
been my experience. You justhave to keep showing up and
(09:52):
eventually it'll show up for youand really, in a powerful way.
Tony Angelini (09:58):
Wow, that's inspiring. So what you're
saying, if I can have a takeawayfrom that. So what you're saying
is that in order to be creative,in order to manifest that
creativity, you have to show upand do something.
Sarah Whitmire (10:15):
Well not even do something, but show up and
really be open to somethingcoming through you. And if it
doesn't, that's okay. But showup again the next day, and show
up again, the next day, it'sabout the showing up and being
available for that creativespark.
Tony Angelini (10:32):
So you go to your garage, and you focus on just
showing up, when the paintingactually happened, did you feel
like you were creating somethingor that something was being
created through you, or both, orneither,
Sarah Whitmire (10:45):
I felt that something bigger than myself had
finally shown up, for me. It'ssomething bigger than me
happening through me, you know,like, I really do feel an
attachment to these paintings, Ifeel like, you know, the
paintings have medicine in themfor me, but also for the people
(11:07):
who watch them being created,they have a real story arc that
they go through from those realprimitive, first marks through,
you know, the refining, and thencovering of a lot of them, like,
I don't just go from point A topoint D, you know, whatever, I
make a lot of interesting termsalong the way. And I believe the
(11:27):
paintings belong to the peopleand to anybody that feels
something when they see them orour hangs the print up on the
wall. It's, it's reminding themof their own inner creativity,
their own inner spark their owninner greatness. So the
paintings don't belong to me.
Tony Angelini (11:49):
How did you come to understand the importance of
the just showing up? Muse? Here?
I am? hashmark?
That's a great question. Ihonestly don't really know what
it was, um, you know. I've beenthrough some pretty hard stuff
in my life. And, you know, I'vealways been kind of practical.
(12:10):
So I like to, you know, read alot, and, you know, obviously be
part of ITU and betteringmyself, and, and so I just
thought, Well, you know, if Iwant to be an artist, I have to
make art. And I realized thatI'm having trouble making art
(12:31):
right now. But I'm going to showup anyway. And and I think it
just, I got so frustrated andfed up with this sort of wishy
washy life that I was living,you know, and I was fueled by a
lot of pain and stuff that Ijust decided, like, if I'm going
to do this, I'm going to startdoing this. Let's just keep
(12:52):
showing up and see if we canmake our way through it or not,
you know, and I'm not reallysure what that thing was, that
made me start showing up otherthan the frustration. But
sometimes you have to go to thatdark place. Sometimes you have
to have that sort of dark nightof the soul before you can start
(13:13):
climbing back up. And I thinkthat's, that was sort of it for
me a little bit.
Yes. And I want to point outthat solutions, healing,
productivity, creativity, makingyour life better, doesn't
necessarily follow the darknight of the soul automatically.
You have to do what you have totake action. Right,
Sarah Whitmire (13:34):
right at that frustration level, where you're
just like, you know, we're gonnaeither get it together or we're
gonna choose a different path,you know,
Tony Angelini (13:42):
and you I have a feeling there were some
sacrifices that you made,because you're a pretty busy
person. You and your husband.
operate the shop.
Sarah Whitmire (13:51):
We work hard.
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (13:53):
And you have children.
Sarah Whitmire (13:55):
I have a son, his name's Guardian.
Tony Angelini (13:58):
Oh, I love that.
Sarah Whitmire (13:59):
He's a cool, dude.
Tony Angelini (14:01):
Yeah, man. And, I mean, I heard the weather's nice
down in Florida these days.
How's it been?
Sarah Whitmire (14:08):
It's been pretty rainy. It's been monsoon in
here, actually. But yeah, it'sgenerally nice. I'm in northern
Florida. So we still get somecool days in the winter. I'm,
I'm looking forward to thoseactually. It's a nice time to be
here in the fall. Huh? Yeah, thesummer is pretty hot.
Tony Angelini (14:26):
Well, yeah. So when I lived in Brandon, which
is I lived in Tampa for 10years, and I just couldn't stand
it was 90 degrees from April toNovember, and it had an effect
on me and my productivity and mywhole outlook. Does the weather
affect your work at all?
Sarah Whitmire (14:45):
That's a cool question. I like that a lot. Um,
yeah, it does actually. I neverreally thought about it, but it
definitely does. Um, you know,the seasons definately affects
me. I sort of live in a in aspiritual system where I follow
(15:07):
the Wheel of the Year and theseasons in my own predict my own
profession and productivity andthings like that. So like in the
winter, I try to rest more. Andin the summer I try to push more
and things like that. But Ithink in general, in the fall, I
like to take my work outside asmuch as possible. So that really
(15:31):
changes things. my very favoriteplace to paint is outside in the
fall at like a festival orsomething like that when it's
just me and the easel andthere's people walking around.
And I love being outside thattime of year. And here in the
summer. It's really hot andmuggy, it rains every single
day. So it's not really itdoesn't really work well to take
(15:53):
my pieces out in the rain.
Although I have painted in therain, it's really hard because
the paint drips everywhere. Andit's a totally different
experience. But generally I trynot to paint in the rain.
Tony Angelini (16:05):
That's cool.
Sarah Whitmire (16:06):
Yeah,
Tony Angelini (16:06):
that's really cool. Yeah. You mentioned
festivals, is this a necessarypart of an artist's life? Or is
this something you love doing?
Or maybe both?
Sarah Whitmire (16:16):
Well, um, it was something that it was something
that I was trying out for awhile. Because I do love
painting live. And I wanted totry out all different kinds of
live painting situations, youknow, anywhere from I've painted
that, like tented art festivals,you know, where people are there
(16:38):
to buy art, to more like musicfestivals, where people are
there to listen to music andhave a good time. And I want to
do some more painting withdifferent types of events. Like,
I think weddings would be fun orsome kind of like party
situation. I haven't done thatyet. But I'm open to it. And I
(17:02):
also I mentioned to you before Iwas looking forward to painting
with the local SymphonyOrchestra. That was going to be
a thing we already had on thebooks, but then COVID hit and so
everything got weird. Soobviously, I've been taking a
step back from painting atfestivals and things like that
right now. It is something thatI would like to get back into.
(17:23):
But I don't know if I'm going toget back into it as much as I
was. Before I was painting live.
Every Friday on Facebook, I waspainting live almost every
Friday in our local city anddifferent clubs and things. And
I had a young son at the time,and we were arranging
babysitting, and I was gettinglike two and three in the
morning. And then having youknow, like a kid it was really
(17:44):
hard. So in some ways, COVID wasa little bit of a blessing
because we moved everythingonline. And instead of being out
at clubs and festivals andthings, I was just at home and
then I can you know more easilytake care of my son and I'm
like, in my garage in the homeand when he steps away if he
needs me, like this Friday, Iwas live painting, and he had a
(18:04):
fever of 101 and I knew that Iwould he was right there you
know, so it wasn't like leavinghim with a sitter and hoping
everything is is okay. So familywise it's been really nice to be
here close to home. So it hasits it has its you know, it's
really fun to paint live forpeople. But it's hard to it's a
(18:25):
lot of hard work. I have somefunny, funny stories of
painting.
Tony Angelini (18:33):
Oh, yeah?
Sarah Whitmire (18:35):
Well, you meet a lot. You meet a lot of
interesting people at thenightclubs and all different
types of personalities. And, youknow, I did some live
collaborative like there was onenight, me and my friend Her name
is Carrie Martinez incrediblevisionary artists. Also, you
should go check her out CarrieMartinez. We were painting
(18:56):
together on one of these sixfoot pieces at a local nightclub
called visionary. And sheactually owned the club with her
husband, who's also anincredible visionary artists and
people somebody had gotten sick.
And Kerry broke her toe. Rightbefore we started like a six
hour live pain. She didn't eventell me that she had broke her
(19:16):
toeShe painted for like sixhours on a broken toe. At the
end of the night. She's like,Oh, I need to sit down and like
Carrie What happened? She'slike, Oh, I broke my toe just
before we went live. And it was.
Tony Angelini (19:31):
Wow.Talk about flow.
Sarah Whitmire (19:33):
It was pretty funny. Yeah, it was a it was a
fun night. You know this.
There's just lots of stories andcharacters and interesting
people. There was one nightwhere somebody tried to paint on
the canvas with me just a randomperson. And I had a friend with
me who like dumped in front ofthe brush just as they were
getting ready to just helpthemselves.
Tony Angelini (19:58):
Say that again?
Sarah Whitmire (20:00):
So, I had taken a break from my painting to, you
know, use the restroom orsomething. And somebody, some
drunk person came up and hadhelped themselves to the art
supplies. And we're coming up toput paint on my canvas to just
add to it.
Tony Angelini (20:17):
Oh, man,
Sarah Whitmire (20:18):
My assistant, Kelly was with me. And she like,
no, like, jumped in front of theperson who was getting ready to
apply the pay. And like took onefor the team is like NO! It's
not a public piece.
Tony Angelini (20:38):
Well, what is it about live by live? Of course,
you mean in front of people?
Sarah Whitmire (20:42):
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony Angelini (20:42):
As opposed to in your garage without anybody
around? Right. And there'sadvantages and but how do you do
that? And and can you obtainwhat they call flow?
Sarah Whitmire (20:54):
Yeah, I yeah.
Tony Angelini (20:56):
in front the people and or is it? Does it
help you? Oh, what's it like?
Sarah Whitmire (21:02):
The thing is, you have to be prepared for
funny stuff at any moment,because you can't edit it out.
You know, we were in I was inthe studio once with my friend
Sherry, who comes and does framedrumming with me. And we had
like, done a beautiful littleceremony before we were live, we
lit a candle. And we were in themiddle of the live painting, and
(21:25):
she's strumming and we see thishuge flame, like on a on a it
was a wooden table to likeingulfing, in the middle of the
Live Paint. And so I always havea spray bottle out here, because
I'm using mix video, I grabbedmy spray, but I'm like, one
moment and I go over and Iextinguish the flames. And then
we just go back to painting, andit's just that's part of the
(21:47):
show. In the moment, things aregonna happen, and you flow with
it. And there's been times wherethe Canvas has fallen down on my
head and like funny thingshappen, and you just have to go
with it. It's just part of it.
It's part of the liveperformance, you know. So you
try to be prepared, but
Tony Angelini (22:07):
I'll tell you coming, I'm starting to see a
parallel here. Let me see if Ican put this question into
words. So coming from thetheater, you know, actors have
their lines, you don't know whatyou're going to do. But actors
have their lines in theirblocking. But outside of that
anything can happen, includingwhen you include the audience,
(22:28):
you have an element that youhave to react to, and there's
energy exchanged. And so theyreally have to be in the moment.
So there's not a whole lot ofsitting back and thinking,
Sarah Whitmire (22:37):
right,
Tony Angelini (22:39):
there's a lot of kinesthetic, authentic,
reacting, authentic is the key.
What you're telling me is thatyou can still experience this
feeling of creation, and thisfeeling of being a part of
something bigger than you infront of an audience where fires
happen, and people come up andwant to paint on your, on your,
(23:00):
on your painting, sorry. Butpeople you know, on people want
come up and want to paint onyour car. It doesn't. Yeah, and
it doesn't seem to interruptyour process. So I wonder if
there's a comparison well, tothat and your, your process,
Sarah Whitmire (23:20):
there's definitely, you know, especially
especially for live like outsidemy comfortable studio, you know,
events, there's a priming thathappens, you know, there's a
stepping into who I am when Ishow up, there's a
professionalism that I you know,that I cloak that I wear when I
(23:43):
go out. And I'm very focused andvery focused on why I'm there.
I'm there for the art and thepeople. And those are my primary
focuses. And so if you know yourwhy then everything else is kind
of easy. And I do very much havethe show must go on mentality. I
usually have earbuds in. So alot, a lot of people that I know
(24:04):
that live pain, they go and theysocialize, I don't socialize so
much I show up to paint. I'mthere to perform and to share
the work. And so I get in my ownlittle zone, and I don't, I
don't socialize a lot when I'mpainting I'm hooked into that
flow of creativity that I'veshown up for over and over again
(24:27):
that it shows up for me noweasily.
Tony Angelini (24:29):
We could talk about technique and all kinds of
stuff, but I'm really interestedin what's happening in your head
while you paint and what's inyour earbuds when you're..I'm
trying not to laugh at that.
Sarah Whitmire (24:51):
That's it's, it's an it's an empty now. It
really is. You can't You can'thave too much going on, too. To
really flow you have to be it'svery, it's a meditative state.
It's a trance state. It's achanneling state. It's a, you
know, it's it is an emptying outto because you can't be full and
allow it to come in. I thinkthat's why meditation. I mean,
(25:14):
I'm, I'm a big, I'm for it. Youknow, if people have trouble
accessing that creativity Ithink it's pretty powerful. And
there's not a right way tomeditate, you got to figure out
which way works for you. Butthere's a quiet and a quietness
to it.
Tony Angelini (25:29):
Well, let's say there's something on your mind.
Sarah Whitmire (25:31):
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (25:32):
Just before you paint,
Sarah Whitmire (25:34):
yeah,
Tony Angelini (25:34):
whether it's live or not. And I mean, in front of
people are not something that'sbothering you.
Sarah Whitmire (25:40):
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (25:41):
When you have to show up? How do you clear your
mind? Do you? push it away? denyit? Do you just acknowledge it
and let it be there and let itdrift off? Or how do you have a
technique or a thing thatdoevery time?
Sarah Whitmire (25:57):
Yeah, I have a lot of techniques. If I was
going to kind of sum it up, youknow, like, so, this last
Friday, I was really worriedabout Guardian, I was painting
on Friday night, Saturday night,we were doing the big live sale
on Facebook with Neptune's ring,Guardian had a fever of 101. And
I was worried about him, I hateme having to work when he's
(26:20):
sick, you know, because I justwant to like, level him up and
be mom, but I wear a lot ofdifferent hats. And one of my
values is balance in my life.
You know, my family does comefirst and my work second, but
sometimes, like, you have tofigure out where you need to go.
At a certain point, you know,like, so my, my community knows
(26:45):
that I'm gonna show up Friday, Idon't have an option of saying,
oh, sorry, my kids sick, it'sjust not who I am. Unless he was
really sick. That's different.
But, um, so I'm worried. And butthere's a there's almost like I
draw a line in the sand. So whenI step into my studio, mom stays
(27:10):
in the in the house. And me, thevessel of creativity, who's
sharing the Muse with the peoplethat are here to watch it and
experience it is here for them.
So I have to leave that part ofmyself behind the door. And when
I'm done painting, I'll go pickher back up, and then go check
(27:32):
on guardian and give him loveand kisses and make sure he's
feeling okay. But I have to sortof step into a different part of
myself. And I think we we allhave many parts, you know. So
that's a big part of what I dowhen I need to show up. And I
say, I can worry about thatlater. But right now I have to
(27:53):
have focus on on what I'm doingright now.
Tony Angelini (27:59):
You know, I've got to tell you, this part will
be I won't include this either.
But so part of my way of helpingpeople relax and open up and
kind of be familiar with me isif I share, you know, I have to
share some of me with theperson. It's interesting that,
and I'm talking to the ICUstudent and you it's interesting
(28:22):
that when in the final product,I don't want to make it about me
at all. I just want to be
Sarah Whitmire (28:33):
a vessel.
Tony Angelini (28:34):
Yeah, exactly.
Sarah Whitmire (28:35):
I'm taking your words again.
Tony Angelini (28:37):
Thank you for that. And so every time I use
the word I, I know, that'sprobably gonna get cut.
Sarah Whitmire (28:44):
Yeah, I understand that. I really do. I
mean, that's why I do it. I, youknow, I've been through so much
of my own journey in art, thatsharing it with other people and
allowing them to tap into theirown creativity is my why, you
know, I really do believe thatart saves. I really do. And even
(29:08):
before I painted these bigpaintings, you know, I, I was in
art journaling, and I was doinga lot of like, internal work
with that. And art journaling issomething else I talk a lot
about, because I feel like forme in my own healing journey in
my own life, it's helped a lot.
It's helped a lot. You know, Ithink most people understand
(29:28):
what writing can do andjournaling with words, but not
everybody thinks that way. Noteverybody thinks in words. I'm
one of those people. Like justhaving this conversation with
you can be challenging for mebecause words aren't my jam. I'm
way better expressing myselfwith images. So, art journaling,
for me was a way to put myfeelings down in imagery and
(29:54):
also a few words and cover upthings with pain. collage over
different things. And, and thenit really did save me. And so
now I like to, I like to talkabout art journaling and about
creativity. And it's nice to beable to talk about how I was
able to form that connectionwith the muse. Because I do, I
(30:17):
don't think there's anythingspecial about me, I think that
everybody can do it. And youdon't have to be a traditional
artist. That's the thing, like alot of people think like, oh,
but I don't paint. But we areall creative. We are all
creators, we're creatingsomething. And it's the same
energy flow that you can tapinto to create what it is you
(30:37):
want. You're you're taking anidea, and your brain you're
pulling it through and making itinto a physical form that's
creating your Creator, yourcreative.
Tony Angelini (30:50):
So what is art journaling?
Sarah Whitmire (30:54):
Art journaling is taking any kind of notebook
or sketchbook and experimentingwith paints, experimenting with
minds and words and color. Andusing it as a diary, there's no
(31:17):
rules really, you can use it asa diary, you can write thoughts
you can collage you can paint,you can, you can cut things up,
you can make doorways, you canmake pockets, you can just like
it's in it, what I like aboutart journaling is it's a really
safe place to explore art.
Because people when they paintcourse, these are for the
(31:40):
people, you know, you don'tpaint a six foot by four foot
painting, and not want people tosee it. But when you make an art
journal, when you journal, it'sthis small container that's just
for you. It's nobody else has tosee it, it's safe. And so a lot
of people starting out in their,in their art journeys, you know,
(32:00):
like, they'll try to look at ablank canvas, and there's the
sphere there. But art journalingis a great starting place for
people who might feel timid intheir, in their work where they
can, you know, practice, liketake your supplies out, try out
these cool pens doodle like youdid when you were a kid, you
(32:20):
know, make some marks. Take yourjournal with you everywhere you
go. And, you know, sketch thingsthat you see or write feelings,
and there's no rules to it. It'sjust a mix of paint and paper
and words and anything you wantor need it to be.
Tony Angelini (32:38):
You know what that reminds me of? That sounds
wonderful. I used to buy a newnotebook because I write my
journal. And I'm a writer, and Iused to buy a new like moleskin
notebook. And I had such areverence for the clean pages
and the possibilities that ittook a lot for me to write in
(33:00):
it.
Sarah Whitmire (33:01):
Yeah,
Tony Angelini (33:01):
and kind of defile it. But then I was in a
bookstore and I saw a journal.
And it was entitled wreck thisjournal.
Sarah Whitmire (33:11):
I know that one.
Tony Angelini (33:13):
Oh, you know it.
Sarah Whitmire (33:13):
Yeah, I have one.
Tony Angelini (33:15):
Oh, cool. And the idea is for anybody who doesn't
know is okay. You can have yourgood moleskin journal and keep
it pristine if you want but thisjournal, feel free to destroy it
with with your musing, cut itlike you described a minute ago.
Now that is freeing.
Sarah Whitmire (33:33):
Yes.
Tony Angelini (33:34):
When you know when you lose respect for what
it is, and allow it to becomewhat it will become.
Sarah Whitmire (33:41):
Yes. Well see that that journal gave you
permission that gave youpermission sometimes the fancier
the journal, the harder becauseyou there's like, Oh, you know,
my words aren't good enough forthe beauty of this, this book,
you know, and if I'm going towrite it, it better be like
perfect in some way. So it'sinteresting, I think most people
(34:03):
have a beautiful journal thatthey're afraid to write in
because what they would put init wouldn't be as beautiful as
the journal itself. And I wouldchallenge that I would, I would
say allow yourself to make ahorrible mess of that beautiful
journal like I do allow myselfto make an ugly painting and
(34:24):
it's okay. And you'll probablybe surprised it will be more
beautiful than then youimagined. There's an immense
freeness of working in journalsand you can always cover it up
you know, moleskin also like youcan collage and those journals I
have a whole collection of ofjournals, some of them have been
(34:44):
published in like Somersetstudio and stuff like that of
some of the art journals thatI've made. And you can make art
journals out of anything to youdon't even need an expensive
journal. If you have one. Youshould use it but if you don't
have one, you can make journalsout of paper bags. I did a
series of art journaling videoson YouTube where I was showing
(35:05):
you because it was like duringthe pandemic and nobody could
find our supplies, we didn'tknow what was open. And so I'm
like here, I'm going to show youhow to make a journal out of a
paper bag. And, you know, trashthat. I think I even use dirt
for like ink. So I show justdifferent ways, different ideas,
different things, you can reallyuse the things around you to
(35:29):
make our cardboard works greatif you don't have the canvas.
Tony Angelini (35:33):
Or your YouTube channel is amazing. Where can
people find it again?
Sarah Whitmire (35:38):
It's Sarah wittmeyer. on YouTube. Yeah,
Tony Angelini (35:41):
I have getting back I have a journal that my
daughter gave me for my birthdaythis year. And it's, you know,
it's leather bound. And it's allgreat paper. And it's you can't
refill it. No, I'm having alittle hard time. I'm like, I
have to save that for somethingspecial, right?
Sarah Whitmire (36:04):
Because what you would write in it wouldn't be
special.
Tony Angelini (36:07):
Right? Right, exactly. But I never read the
journal,
Sarah Whitmire (36:13):
you're worthy of the nice journal.
Tony Angelini (36:16):
Exactly what would make this meaningful? And
guess what I want to say is thatI've never regretted wrecking a
journal. I'm going to switchgears a bit.
Sarah Whitmire (36:25):
Okay,
Tony Angelini (36:25):
I want to talk about your community, your
support system, for lack of abetter word. Now, full
disclosure, Sara and I are bothmembers of Impact Theory
University. And Sara and I areactually a part of an
accountability group in ImpactTheory University, just for
creatives. And that's how weknow each other. So tell me how
(36:46):
important this sense of supportis for you this sense of
community, you said like in yourlive feed, you have other
artists that come and watch youand they might write or they
might compose, talk a little bitabout the people that you expose
yourself with, as far asartistic community.
Sarah Whitmire (37:03):
Yeah, community is super important. community
has really saved my ass duringthe pandemic. And I think a lot
of people in our groups, youknow, it's things are changing,
you know, and in some ways, theinternet is really reflecting
(37:26):
our need for coming togetherwith like minds, and like
spirits and creative tribes. AndI think, you know, one of the
best things about the internetis the way that we're able to
connect with people from all allaround the world, and have that
sense of kinship with people whoyou know, are, are from
(37:49):
everywhere. I am super thankfulfor my online communities. I I'm
not sure I can adequatelyexpress. But I know that I've
had letters and notes and thingsfrom people thanking me for, you
know, showing up Friday nights,because even if they don't show
(38:10):
up to create, they show up forthe people that are there in the
groups to say hello to check into, you know, something,
something in your life hardright now, tell us about it,
we're here for you, we love you,you know, I've even done one of
the things I did in my own groupfor sort of building my
community because you have toput energy into your community,
(38:33):
you can't just like build acommunity and expect people to
like get along you like as a asa facilitator of a community,
you have to put energy into it,you have to feed the group so
that people feel comfortablesharing and comfortable with
their own vulnerability andthings like that. And like you
said earlier, that ofteninvolves you being vulnerable
(38:53):
with them first, so that theyfeel like it's a safe place. But
we also did some art swapping,which was really fun and built
the community like there's athing called ATC, which is
artists trading cards. It's kindof like sports cards, but it's
for artists and they havecertain rules, they have to be a
certain size. And it's a way tomake tiny little pieces of art
(39:17):
that you can trade with people.
And so we I talked a little bitabout what ATCs were Artist
trading cards, and a little bitabout the size rules and we all
collage and made little artiststrading cards and and then we
swapped them in the group. Andso people were receiving little
mini pieces of art from otherpeople in the group. And it was
(39:38):
just a really beautiful way tobring the community together. Of
course people you know, we'reall artists too. So people would
send like extra Cool Bits ofpaper and things that they found
is like a beautiful care packageand this was during the pandemic
too. So it was a really nicething to do for people to
receive art in the mail and coollittle things to To journal with
(39:58):
and to make our list and, andthat kind of thing really builds
community and lifts people andit becomes a family Really?
Yeah. And
Tony Angelini (40:09):
how does it affect your work?
Sarah Whitmire (40:12):
Well, it gives me a really big why to show up,
you know, because I genuinelycare about my community. I love
them. They're my brothers andsisters and I want them to
succeed. You know, we all sortof cheerlead everybody and
boosts everyone you know,whatever level you're at, if
you're creating, you're makingsomething, you know, we applaud
(40:33):
that and we support that and we,you know, are just happy for you
and your success.
Tony Angelini (40:40):
I understand the importance of communicating with
people with like minded people.
But these days, there seems tobe a concerned about something
called echo chambers. What's thedifference? How do you maintain
your acquaintances in a positiveway with like minded people
without falling into the trap ofjust being intolerant of people
(41:00):
who don't think like you?
Sarah Whitmire (41:03):
Right? Well, I think you have to have some
people in your life that keepyou what I want to call like
brutally honest, you know, like,you have to, I think it's
important to have a couplefriends that are always going to
be brutally honest with youabout things. And it's good to
have a variety of people withdifferent belief systems in your
circle, it keeps you grounded,it keeps you from having that
(41:26):
echo thing you know, like notall of my friends believe
exactly how I believe abouteverything you know, like I have
different friends that believedifferent political issues and
you know, different ways ofworking with spirit and art and
you know, so I think you have todo a lot of work to ground
yourself too you know, you haveto take in information and read
(41:50):
from different places anddifferent sources and and try to
find I always like to say like,the truth is somewhere in the
middle, I really, I feel likeit's, it's brought the truth is
in the middle somewhere. So youhave to surround yourself with
different people too also isimportant.
Tony Angelini (42:07):
How do you find time to read?
Sarah Whitmire (42:09):
Well, I read for fun. And so it doubles as as
self care. And I like to read itat night.
Tony Angelini (42:20):
What do you read?
Sarah Whitmire (42:22):
I'm reading some reading some magical literature
and reading the Clavis Goetica,which is about cathartic
sorcery. And I'm also readingwhat am I reading? Oh, I just
got Frida Kahlo. My good friend,Nicole just sent me Frida
(42:43):
Carlo's diary. I had no idea.
Apparently, Mexico had her diarykind of under locking key for a
while, and then they publishedit recently. And it's, you know,
of course, her diary was allwritten in Spanish, but there's
translations in the back of thebook, and it's got her personal
like, journal pages where she'spainted and drawn and written
(43:04):
things about Diego and her lifeand her story, and it's
beautiful. So I've been digginginto that. Also, it's
incredible. I had no ideaexisted, but so you make time
for things like that.
Tony Angelini (43:22):
Yeah, you do. And speaking of time, so have you
gone in your work? Have you gonethe gallery route as well?
Sarah Whitmire (43:32):
A little bit,
Tony Angelini (43:33):
you know what I'm saying?
Sarah Whitmire (43:33):
Yeah, not so much. I, I,
Tony Angelini (43:37):
you're quite prolific. And every time I talk
with you, you're more wellknown. Talk to me about the
galleries. Are they useful?
Sarah Whitmire (43:45):
Well, I don't do a lot of gallery stuff. I've
done some local gallery stuff.
It's tricky because, you know,the galleries have their own
audience and the galleriesusually take a big percentage of
your work. And it can be okay.
(44:05):
It's not my favorite way ofshowing art. I always feel like
my arts for the people.
Everybody, you know, it's partlywhy I love murals. And I've got
muralist friends who you know,they make art for the people,
you put art on a mural, it's foreverybody. And I'm kind of I'm,
I sort of dig that kind of art,a little bit more than some of
the gallery stuff. It's not thatI don't do it, it's just that
(44:27):
it's not, it's not my go to. Iwould much rather be you know,
out in the trenches at thefestivals and like, just with
the people on YouTube or anybodywho you know, would enjoy
creating with me or seeing theart being made. So
Tony Angelini (44:48):
who has inspired you?
Sarah Whitmire (44:50):
That's a great question. I have quite a few
people that have inspired me, myvery, very first inspiration. I
grew up in In Illinois, I was aMidwestern girl small town. I
was adopted and doesn't reallymatter, but kind of gives you an
idea of where I come from.
Tony Angelini (45:10):
That's interesting,
Sarah Whitmire (45:11):
My adopted parents were nice people. And my
mom would take me to the ArtInstitute of Chicago, at least
once a year, not twice a year,it was a couple hours away. So
it was a good drive for us. AndI remember I was probably about
(45:31):
six years old when she took meand we saw a Monet exhibit. And
it's the first exhibit that Ihave a recollection of ever,
really feeling. So Monet paintedthese, like eight foot paintings
(45:51):
of his water lily garden. A lotof people know his work, but
they don't really know that he'sgot these massive paintings that
span like sort of a half circlething. So when you stand in
them, you literally feel likeyou're swimming in the water.
They're huge. It's like, it'slike a giant mural of water. And
(46:11):
they had it there, the ArtInstitute, and my mom took me
and I remember as a little girl,you know, standing, looking at
the water and the lilies andhaving this spark, this
inspiration, this thing insideme awaken, like, Oh, you know, I
(46:33):
think that most people have hadsome kind of experience in front
of a piece of art. You know,it's a feeling it's hard to
describe. But that was the firsttime I felt that way. And so
after the museum, I was reallyinterested in Monet, and my mom
was more than happy to buy me abook about it. And she read to
(46:54):
me his story, and I fell in lovewith him. He's had this kind of
like grandpa like, personality,big straw, floppy hats, and his
like pipe and painting out inhis garden that he had planted
himself. I love that so much.
And then in his older years, heactually started to go blind.
And you can see in his work fromhis early paintings to his later
(47:16):
paintings, the frustration thathe had with his work as he
started to go blind, and he hada couple eye surgeries, and
they, they were unsuccessful,and like his colors got darker
and more frustrated. And itreally touched me it really
spoke to me even like as a younggirl, the story of his life and
(47:39):
the struggle that he wentthrough. really impacted me
hugely. And so Monet definitelywas my first experience
withhaving another being sort oflight me up and sent me on my
path. And I have other I'vemixed I have other, you know,
(48:02):
people like I'm really inspiredby David Bowie, elton john, Lady
Gaga, not artists, but they aretheir own rise, of course, Frida
Kahlo, um, modern day peoplethat inspire me, Michael Demain
is amazing. I've taken a coupleclasses with him. I am a self
taught artist. And I've donesome traveling, visiting other
(48:28):
artists and retreats and things,learning different stuff.
Following things that inspiredme, but I'm inspired by fashion
and color and music and books.
great writers. poets. inspireme. Yeah, theater. Yeah. Oh,
(48:51):
yeah. I, I remember going I wentto the trip to London with a
class in high school. And wewent to her majesty's Theatre in
London and saw Phantom of theOpera. And that was man
incredible. I had such anexperience there. So definitely
(49:14):
in theater as well. Yeah.
Tony Angelini (49:15):
Yeah, man, Martha Graham. She said it's, it's
important for an artist toexplore other mediums and see
what other artists have othermediums are doing and you take
that in and it becomes a part ofyou seems to me if you're
painting like you do anythingthat's a part of you is fair
game and just becomes moremeaningful. Would you say?
Sarah Whitmire (49:36):
Yeah, for sure.
Tony Angelini (49:38):
Even that Big Mac you ate yesterday.
Sarah Whitmire (49:40):
I don't eat Big Macs but...
Tony Angelini (49:45):
Well, gee, I could talk with you all day
about this, but I know you'refairly busy person. Yeah, this
has been a lot of fun. So if youhad any advice to somebody who
just is just frustrating wantsto paint and time goes by, and
they still haven't done it. Butthey really, what would you say
(50:06):
to that person?
Sarah Whitmire (50:07):
I would say, find your why. And you have to
schedule time for it. So even ifyou can't like my story, even if
you can't show up and havesomething come through, you
know, show up anyway, andcontinue to show up and have a
(50:29):
reason why you're showing up.
You know, you have to, that'ssomething you have to figure out
like, why am I showing up? Isthis some gifts I have to give
to the world that only I cangive? Or am I doing it for my
family? Or am I doing it for youknow, whatever it is, you have
to find your why. And then youhave to consistently show up for
it and thinking about creativityas a muscle that you're
(50:51):
building, rather than justsomething that's like, a spark
of genius or whatnot is reallywas helpful to me. So if you
think of creativity, like amuscle, you have to continuously
show up for an exercise, youknow, then I think that's pretty
helpful. I wish somebody hadtold me that a while back.
Tony Angelini (51:17):
It is. It is a muscle, isn't it? You have to do
your reps.
Sarah Whitmire (51:20):
Yeah.
Tony Angelini (51:21):
I love that. I'm going to explore that. Thanks.
Sarah Whitmire (51:25):
You're welcome.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.