One evening when Sarah Kelly was in middle school, she decided to draw a picture of Hank Williams for a cousin who was a big fan of the country legend.
At some point, she looked at the clock, expecting an hour to have passed. It was 4 a.m.
“It was the first time I remember that I was in a zone,” Kelly said. “It was a realization that art was a meditation.”
Kelly grew up drawing, with the support of her mother, artist Cindy Taplin. But it wasn’t until that moment, deep into the night, that she decided to make art her life’s work.
A 2007 graduate of West Forsyth High School, Kelly later earned a bachelor’s degree in painting and religious studies from Guilford College. Upon graduation, she moved to Santa Fe, N.M., without knowing anyone, eventually finding work with sculptor Kevin Box.
She moved back to Winston-Salem a few years ago, becoming active in the local arts scene, working to promote other artists and selling her art at fairs and pop-up shows. Kelly is director of the gift shop at Sawtooth School for Visual Art, choosing and marketing all the art that is for sale in the shop. Kelly is a versatile artist, who is a trained oil painter but dreams of being a full-time potter. She also makes jewellery and journals.
Source: Relish
