Sarah Z Short Notes from the Driftway © 2025, Sarah Z Short, Ice Pops and Irregular Forms No time, too tired, I have to clean the house. When were the plants last watered? Look at all the dust on my books. How can I work when it feels like the world is falling apart...? Our minds offer a constant commentary that can make creating art seem overwhelming or insignificant. However, try to ignore it, and keep in mind how much better you'll feel after just a few minutes of creative work. 5 Minute...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio © 2025, Sarah Z Short, The Back Forty, Found papers and acrylic paint, 16" x 12" x 1.5" This piece began with a question- How do I create texture on paper? From there, the exploration began with printmaking- both on a gelli plate and with letterpress. I tried different vintage papers and different mixes of acyrlic paints until I found a way to layer paint onto paper. And then I kept going, stretching the idea further, and sometimes backing away until I...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader Writing can enhance your art and business in surprising ways; however, like art, maintaining a daily practice will have the most significant impact. I'd like you to list all the ways you, as an artist, use writing as part of your creative practice. (And share it with me, if you'd like.) This is the first assignment my students will be doing tomorrow in my in-person art/writing class. Once you see your list, take it a step further: Starting...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader Writing can enhance your art and business in surprising ways; however, like art, maintaining a daily practice will have the most significant impact. I'd like you to list all the ways you, as an artist, use writing as part of your creative practice. (And share it with me, if you'd like.) This is the first assignment my students will be doing tomorrow in my in-person art/writing class. Once you see your list, take it a step further: Starting...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader This week, I'm inviting you behind the scenes with a special series of daily journal entries that capture the reality of my artistic practice. Starting today on the blog, I'll be sharing my notes from a recent five-day stretch, which reveal everything from creative blocks to business success. Each day reveals something different about the artistic process and the business that supports it. Check back daily for new entries, which I'll release...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader You see a listing for an estate sale and scan through the pictures, deciding if it's worth driving halfway across the state on a rainy Saturday. Looking closely at a photograph of shelves along the basement stairs, you notice a stack of Time magazines from the 1950s. Those would be great to have and worth the drive. You grab your giant blue IKEA bag and head out into the rain. A few hours later, you're back with the magazines ($1.00 each),...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader Thank you to all who have subscribed to my newsletter after my lessons with TOAST, The Collage Makers Summit, and the Wilder Collage community. I've written two new blog posts to keep you inspired: The 5/10/20 Technique: Transform Your Scrap Bin into Unexpected Art I've recently fallen in love with my scrap bin all over again. After creating a new piece using only materials I found inside, I realized that timed collages would be perfect for:...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader, Last week, my solo exhibition at Connecticut College, Northwestern, opened. One of the questions I was asked was how I describe my style. It took me a moment to answer and I went with geometric abstract, but that didn't feel quite right. As I wrote in my artist talk, which I ended up not giving since it was more of a drop-by-when-you-can sort of opening, I included a quote from Anne Truitt, “The shape of my work’s development becomes a...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Sarah Z Short Notes from Driftway Studio Hi Reader, You've started the year with the goal to create more art. You head to Blick and fill your basket with paints, mediums, brushes, and panels. Back home, you have all your art books stacked on the coffee table and three open tabs on your computer, each with an in-progress online class. Whenever you open Pinterest or Instagram, you save images you plan to look at later for inspiration. The ideas are churning, the excitement is building... and...
7 months ago • 3 min read