SARALA KASBE
About | As an emerging artist based in Cambridge, Sarala resonates with the art process as she explores and expresses her inner thoughts and emotions. Day by day, paint is the constant she holds onto to keep moving forward and connect with all external surroundings. The world is a heavy and scary place to experience alone. Through life questioning and brokenness, light has been resurrected, through the process of creating, as she reflects upon the darker states of mind, pain and suffering, along with the lighter sides of love and joy.
While her current collection mainly holds oil as her medium, acrylic can also be found in the pieces she finds sacred in her eyes. The process, patience, and stamina that oil brings to the table provides a metaphor as to how she sees life. A journey with many, many layers. Her art consumes and releases both breadth and depth one might not have the words for or know how to express externally elsewhere. The movement the pieces hold within their own and unique constant manifests the soul like a river does just before crashing with its meeting peak.
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? My earliest memories of being artistic go back to when I was five years old. Growing up, music surrounded my family – jazz, rock, classical, metal – you name it. My mom played the piano, my dad the guitar. It was important to my parents that my brother and I take up an instrument as well, so my brother followed in my mom’s footsteps and played the piano while I explored a different avenue, and picked up the violin. I’m pretty sure I heard classical violinist Sarah Chang play live once, and I knew right then and there I wanted to create the sound she was producing from wood up on that stage – the most pure, soft, soul crushing, inspiring sound I had ever heard. I took private Suzuki lessons and continued on to play violin through high school in Orchestra. I took a breath after graduation to explore other avenues of the creative mind for a few years, and it wasn’t until 2018 that I took up painting.
When did art become a pursuit? I started painting in the January winter of 2018. It was a cold Friday wine night with friends up in the North Shore. We pulled out some paper and paint and the rest fell into place from there. That whole year, give or take, was probably one of the darkest years, months, days, I have experienced and can remember to date – a longer story there, for sure. But the piece I made that dark, bitter winter night was the piece where it all began for me. It was a night full of questioning, confusion, hunger, and want. It was a night understanding desire – rationalizing and tearing that up into tiny pieces. I don’t believe anyone has any real answers there but paint helps me come to terms with everything upstairs just a little bit more.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? I am fully self-taught – the best way to learn and push yourself if you are truly passionate about something.
Darkness, Oil on fine art paper
How did you first become involved with CAA? I was walking by Porter Square in Cambridge, MA, and saw a few pieces of art in a small boutique. There was a sign next to the framed pieces about CAA and how to connect with other like minded artists and the opportunity to showcase your artwork yourself. I was so excited to find another network – I had just completed my first art show at Porter Mill Studios in Beverly, MA, and wanted to pursue art on a more serious level! I ran home and signed up to become a member right away.
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? I receive CAA’s weekly newsletters which provide a great overview of what is happening in the art community in the area I live – Cambridge, MA. This is a wonderful resource to see which Calls for Art have opened and other external opportunities and resources that are available to art members alike. I also have an interactive IG account (@saralaamykasbe) where I post my most recent pieces, works in progress, prints (Society6), and other artists’ stories from which I gain inspiration.
What role do you think the artist plays in society? As a 27 year old emerging artist based in Cambridge, I resonate with the art process as I explore and express my inner thoughts and emotions. Society often tells us a story of how we are “supposed” to live life in this complicated world. Stepping back and thinking for yourself what you believe, think, feel, are the moments that are most precious and tender. I think, for an artist, in any form, finding that inner clarity and choosing something for yourself rather than being told if it’s right or wrong, and then expressing those emotions in an artist way, is when true vulnerability becomes visible.
This form of creation has saved me in every way. Day by day, paint is the constant I hold onto to keep moving forward and connect with all external surroundings. The world is a heavy and scary place to experience alone. Through life questioning and brokenness, light has been resurrected, through the process of creating, as I reflect upon the darker states of mind, pain and suffering, along with the lighter sides of love and joy. Onwards and upwards I always say. Remember to breathe.
Willow, Acrylic on fine art paper
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? While my current collection mainly contains oil as my medium, acrylic can also be found in the pieces I find sacred in my eyes. The process, patience, and stamina that oil brings to the table provides a metaphor as to how I see life. A journey with many, many layers. My art consumes and releases both breadth and depth one might not have the words for or know how to express externally elsewhere. The movement the pieces hold within their own and unique constant manifests the soul like a river does just before crashing with its meeting peak.
What is your creative process? Where are you finding ideas for your art these days? Every piece I create has its own journey. Typically, the larger scale ones take 1 – 3 months, the smaller ones take a day or two. All in all, timing is everything and resurrecting and knowing when a piece is finished is a slow burn. I don’t paint every day, and I don’t paint to pass the time. I paint when I need to express something inside which cannot be successfully communicated any other way. My creative process is an emotional one, and I don’t take it lightly. Probably the reason I enjoy oil so much is the ability to be able to paint over it constantly. The paint remains fresh days later, so if my mood has changed, as it always does during the painting of a large piece, the canvas compliments the flow and vividity of my mind.
Arise, Oil on fine art paper
What is one of your artistic goals? I have many artistic goals and desires as to where I see myself in the future. Right now, my main priority is to exhibit in at least five galleries and/or spaces in 2020 in order to continue expanding who sees my work and opportunities to enrich and influence. I am currently displaying an original 2’ X 3’ oil on canvas piece Blush with Gallery263’s “Touchy Feely” online exhibit from April 15th – May 30th 2020. Five other originals – Willow, Flesh, Arise, Contrast, and Reflection – are displaying for purchase at the Cambridge Innovation Center from January 22nd – July 31st 2020. Three more to go!
SEE MORE FROM SARALA
Website: saralakasbe.com
Instagram: @saralaamykasbe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saralaamykasbe/?ref=bookmarks