Sarah Pearson
3rd Year, Major in Art Education & Minor in Psychology

Growing Pains
40″ x 55″
Embroidered Textile
2019

Artist Statement:

I believe that creating and sharing art is a very intimate practice, which is the reason why the majority of my artwork draws from my personal narratives and experiences. I aim to make art that is expressive and evocative, exemplifying various emotional states and the self-awareness which exists alongside. This is in hopes that the viewer feels immersed in or connected to my artwork in a personal way. I value colour and the power it has in setting the tone of an artwork as well as directing the viewer. This is something that guides my process; therefore, colour is an integral element of my art practice and the colour palette of this work was an essential component in creating a warm and inviting artwork that greets the viewer. I view the definition of growth to be synonymous with aspects of community. Similarly, the visual of plants and flowers growing has remained in the back of my mind since the beginning of my journey in community art education; a visual metaphor for the significant life experience of learning how to teach and facilitate the learning and making process for others. Being so privileged as to work with such a broad range of populations throughout my professional experiences and within my teaching placements, has taught me about the fragility of older learners as well as young children and youth who are very impressionable at that age. Teaching experiences with these populations have shed light on the amount of vulnerability it can take to create, share, and engage with art. These thoughts surrounding growth and vulnerability are the reasons behind my choice to work with such an intricate fibres technique, embroidery.

Ideas of delicacy and fragility bring a whole other dimension to the narrative of growth. Elaborating on the notion and representation of natural objects, I felt it important to capture organicity as well as elements of degradation. I included elements of degradation in this piece as reference to hindrances I have experienced both as an artist and an educator, and how I have grown and transformed my perspective when looking back at those experiences. These elements in this artwork are equally indicative to any obstacles learners of mine have had to overcome and how they’ve done so through artmaking and learning processes. Growth, learning, and art making are profoundly intertwined in the field of art education and within my own thinking. After all, growth is not linear, and neither is learning; they are natural processes which take place over time and require much hard work and reflection. For this reason, this visual metaphor is something I plan on expanding on in my future artistic practice as well as bringing similar concepts forward in the lessons I will develop. This is in hopes of opening up the conversation surrounding the importance and authenticity of growth in community.