Sarah Gardner, also known as Juicy*S of Juicy*S Art, is a mom, a lawyer, an author and a self-taught mixed media artist and teacher. Sarah is the author of “Share Your Joy: Mixed Media Shareable Art.” Creativity is self-care for Sarah because playing with her art supplies in a curious and intuitive way allows her to banish her perfectionistic inner critic. Mixed media art, whether it is in her art journal or creating shareable art, is a mindfulness practice of layering different media until the pages or the postcards come together into something she loves. With a focus on the little choices she makes along the way, making these decisions based just on what is in front of her in the moment, and not judging every step she takes worrying about how it will turn out, Sarah enjoys the process of creating. She has come to learn that it is this process, not the perfect end result that brings her joy.

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What does Art is Magic mean to you?

As a student in Make Create Express in 2021, Art is Magic was a resource for learning, inspiration, and community. It is a really rich offering. Art is Magic has a soulful community feel to it that is welcoming. Because of this, students feel nurtured and supported in their creativity and learning new things, which can sometimes feel intimidating.

Why do you create art?

I create art because it is the best way I have found to connect to my truest self. I love to make things! But I’m also the kind of person who thinks a lot (maybe too much) about things. I’m a recovering perfectionist. Through all the years I’ve been making stuff, I’ve learned that what gives me joy is the process of creating, not the “perfect” end result. I still want things to turn out in a way that I like, but perfection isn't the motivating force or the unkind dictator in my head anymore. When I’m creating, I’m really focused on the process, enjoying the intuitive way things happen, seeing what different supplies do, and experimenting and playing around without judging every choice I make. I’m indulging my curiosity, open to what can happen. I’m not thinking about a result; I’m not in production mode. I’m in the moment, attending to the different choices I make along the way; with each choice leading to another and another. I feel a sense of flow, of being “in the zone.” I lose track of time and I feel connected to myself, because I am fully and intentionally engaged in the transformative process of creating something new out of my supplies. When I get out of my own way like this, I feel more like a whole person. Staying curious and being kind to myself, trusting this process, can be a meditation. I can experience joy, awe, and wonder. When I empower myself to experience creativity in this way, I begin to understand that I can experience the same freedom in my day-to-day life. I see that everything turns out, even if I don’t follow a plan, or end up with something perfect. I learn that the attitude and mindset I have while I’m creating, is an attitude and mindset that will keep me in the moment and allow me to experience joy, even in the daily chores that need to be done.  

Tell us about your journey to become an artist?

My mixed media art practice began in 2007 when I started hosting Girls ARTisan Camps at my home for my 6 year-old daughter and her friends from school. One of the truths that came out of many years of making art with kids is: Anyone can do this! Mixed media, for me, is about asking “what if?” It is about surrendering to the process so that you can be in the moment, and not about creating a “perfect result” or a “work of art.” Like the girls concluded, your art is special just because it is your art. And it’s yours because of the process you engaged in to create it. Creating is where I give myself permission to play, experiment, learn, and just enjoy the process. I've learned a lot over the years:  All about different art supplies (media) and what they do; what I like and don't like; how colors work together.  And I've discovered my own creative style. I get joy out of the process of creating something I think is beautiful. Along the way, I made quite a few things I didn’t like.  It is a process of trial and error. I embrace this process because there is much to learn from it. Attending to the choices I make and the outcomes of those choices helps me discover what I like and don’t like. I believe that if you fully invest yourself in this process of discovery, you will end up loving, not just liking, what you create. And to me, that is what being an “artist” is all about.

What is it about making art that stirs your soul?

I think the human impulse to create comes from our soul, the essence of who we are. So, it makes sense that if we intentionally engage in art making, and embrace our own creative spark, we are connecting with this part of ourselves. In fact, I think creativity is one of the most accessible ways for us to do this - to connect to spirit. It’s not that making art stirs my soul, it’s me accessing that part of me in an intentional, practical way. It’s always there…waiting to stir me.

What is currently inspiring you?

I have always been and continue to be inspired by the non-fiction books I read. I love to connect the science of psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness, and personal development to my creative practice. Right now, I’m especially focused on “awe,” and the physiological and neurological effects of experiencing it.  On a more fundamental level, though, I have always been and always will be inspired by color. Colors give me joy. 

What does your creative Practice look like?

As I have begun teaching more, my creative practice is focused a lot on creating lessons for others, to teach them how to do what I do. But this is just the latest version of my creative practice that has been focused all along on sharing my art. For many years, as a part-time lawyer and mom of two kids, the only art I set aside time to do was making postcards for iHanna’s DIY International Postcard Swap. I was creating projects for the kids’ school, along with being an art docent for their classes.  And I managed to fit in some art journaling every now and then, for myself. But when you’re working and in mom-mode, it’s hard to make time for what you want to do. Small art like postcards seemed more manageable, and it was.  As added motivation, there was the accountability aspect:  I had agreed to make and send cards to ten different people, and they were counting on receiving my cards! And of course, I received ten wonderful surprises in the mail! I still make a LOT of shareable art. In fact, I just wrote a book about it called “Share Your Joy - Mixed Media Shareable Art.

How do you keep your creative practice fresh and inspired?

I think I just do what I am called to do. And sharing my art, making art to share, so that I can share the joy of creating it with someone else, is a huge motivator for me. I also follow artists who inspire me, and am constantly sponging up what excites me out in the world. I keep lists of ideas and create my own prompt cards so I am never without a place to start. I try to come to creativity with an attitude of gratitude, so it feels like ideas and inspiration are abundant.

What sort of creative walls do you hit?

I think the only real impediment for me is time. I am not a routine person. I cannot set a routine and abide by a time schedule when it comes to making art. But I don’t beat myself up about this. Instead, I am kind to myself. If I am feeling low or uninspired, I do something simple like create art papers (my own collage materials). We made these every year in Girls ARTisan Camp. It can be as simple as doodling on sketch paper with a black pen, creating patterned papers that I can use in my art. Often times, it is creating colorful, random mixed media art papers. These require a little more time, but when I use them in my art journal or shareable art, they provide oodles of inspiration.

What do you do to move through them? This is answered in the last response.

How has your process evolved?

One turning point in my life that set off a huge evolution for me was getting tongue cancer in 2018.  Before this, I doubted myself. I questioned my ability. I was disconnected from my true self and let limiting thoughts dictate my choices. I let myself believe that I am not worthy of calling myself an artist. Getting cancer was a wake up call and I heeded it wholeheartedly. I just didn’t give myself the choice of doubting and instead embraced “saying yes!” I put myself out there. I created a website. I started hosting Art Play Dates at my home - adult versions of Girls ARTisan Camp. I applied to become a teacher on Wanderlust 2020 and was selected as Guest Host, teaching six classes that year. In doing, in acting, in choosing “yes” instead of “no,” I have come to realize I have much to share and offer the world, whether it is a postcard sent in the mail, or a class I am teaching. I am empowered to create the life I want. This has brought me intense joy and purpose.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your creative journey?

It’s this: You are responsible for creating what you want to create, in art and in life. But I realize that my younger self wouldn’t really understand this. So, I don’t think I look back and wish I’d known something different than what I knew at the time. Maybe I did that when I was younger, but now that I’m in my fifties, I know that I had to “not know.” I had to go through everything I went through in the way that I did to learn and understand certain things about myself and about life. It’s like you can’t get there any other way. And this is true in creativity as well. I feel like you have to go through that process of trial and error, of exploring what you don’t like to find what you do like, to understand what you’re capable of, and what you want to create. And I’m moving forward. I will continue to learn and grow until the day I leave this plane.

Do you have a Creative Self Care Practice?

Anytime I am creating I am engaging in self care. I am fortunate to be able to spend at least a small amount of time, every day, making something. I also love to walk my dog as a self care activity. And Pilates is a mindfulness practice that benefits my body all the way to the cellular level. For me, self care is saying “yes” to myself

Do you have any creative rituals?

Like I said, I am not a routine person. But, I love to take advantage of the Full Moon and New Moon energies and engage monthly in a couple rituals to engage in intention-setting and mindfulness with their help.