Sarah Lorraine Edwards has been making land art—art made in nature, from nature—for about seven years. Sarah was creating designs such as a hearts, spirals, infinity signs and nests, with her children and friends as a way to express her creative self and to find a state of “no mind” that often occurs while creating. In the fall of 2014, she began exploring Instagram. “I started seeing other artists creating smaller designs indoors on some sort of background, often black or white,” she says. “I was immediately inspired to try my hand at it. I love creating art with nature: it brings a deep and nourishing joy to my life.”

Whimsical and playful, bright and joyous are words used to describe Sarah’s work. She uses whatever pieces of nature she can find: plants, flowers, seed pods, sticks, pine cones, rocks, shells—even insect bodies. “Mother Earth first inspired me,” she says. “I grew up living in the woods and I’ve always loved to play with nature. I have also been inspired by the artist Andy Goldsworthy, as well as a handful of artists I’ve found on Instagram who create with nature.”

Sarah’s goal swiftly became to make art every day, and solidifying her niche. “Botanical art, land art, ephemeral art, and petal play are some other ways to describe creating art with plants and nature,” she says. Sarah has been creating a spiral made from nature each day since and plans to keep that project going for at least a year. “My goal is to be inspired and to inspire others.  Nature art can be so therapeutic, meditative and nurturing,” she says.

Life took an exciting twist after Sarah received a message from the natural beauty company Tata Harper last November. “They flew me to New York where I spent two days in a photo studio playing with petals. It was my first trip to New York and it definitely helped open my eyes to possibilities.”

Living in a Space of Possibility 

Sarah aspires to create children’s books illustrated with nature art scenes. “I would love to travel the world, creating botanical art on location in a variety of destinations, then publish books with the images and my experiences,” she says. Until the next time she boards a jet plane, she is staying busy creating a line of greeting cards in Spokane—found in Huckleberries Natural Market, Atticus, and Two Women Vintage Goods, with more locations on the way, including a line in California—and taking on commissioned projects from around the region.

Sarah is available for commissioned project and can be reached by calling (509) 869.7616, emailing sarahsmilescreations@gmail.com or visiting her on the web at sarahsmilescreations.com.

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SPOKANE ARTS MONTH

Imagine you are a puppy, sniffing and looking at the world as you walk through it for the first time. There are lots of things to taste and chase. If you have just moved to Spokane you might want to taste the variety of culture in our city, or perhaps you have just retired and want to become more engaged in the arts, or maybe you have a new girlfriend and you want to impress her with some great nights on the town, or you are looking for events to share with your kids or grandchildren. Create Spokane Arts Month is ideal for the curious.

Spokane Arts is coordinating the third annual Create Spokane Arts Month for October 2016. Artists, arts organizations, arts businesses, creatives and instigators of all stripes will be joining together for the month. Spokane Arts Month includes community partnerships, the Spokane Arts Awards and Art Tour 2016 (formerly known as Visual Arts Tour). Activities will include art workshops at libraries, neighborhood festival activities, exhibitions at museums, folk art activities with Hmong and other communities, readings, concerts and exhibitions at area universities, plays, spoken word performances and music in all genres.

The Create Spokane Costume Ball will take place on Saturday, November 5 at the Washington Cracker Building. At this event, the Spokane Arts Awards will be given to recognize the accomplishments of artists, arts and cultural organizations and local individuals committed to enriching our community through the arts. The four awards categories reflect the values of Spokane Arts: Leadership, Collaboration, Imagination and Inclusion. And for the second year, the Karen Mobley Arts Impact Award will be given to a person in the Spokane community who has demonstrated extraordinary perseverance and leadership in the arts. This award was named for Karen Mobley, past City of Spokane Arts Director and arts leader in Spokane.

Spokane Arts represents the joint efforts of the 501c3 Spokane Arts Fund and the City of Spokane’s Arts Commission, working together to amplify Spokane as the cultural hub and catalyst for the Inland Northwest through arts leadership, advocacy, networking and support.

Find more details about Create Spokane arts events at spokanearts.org.

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DOCTOBER

Founded in 1998 by a small group of local film fans dedicated to making high-quality cinema available in Bellingham and the entire Whatcom County region, the mission of Pickford Film Center is to provide a forum and resource for independent cinema, strengthening community through education, dialogue and the celebration of film. PFC offers year-round, independent, foreign and documentary film, world class performing arts, and related special events.

As the region’s leading venue for independent film, PFC serves individuals of all ages, races and socioeconomic levels. With program grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Humanities Washington, the Charlotte Martin Foundation and capital project grants from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Building for the Arts Grant, The MJ Murdock Charitable Trust and The Rotary Club of Bellingham, PFC has a proven track record of success as both a local business and nonprofit leader.

Each year, for the entire month of October, Pickford Film Center hosts a celebration of the art of the documentary featuring some of the most diverse and varied programming offered all year. From films focusing on environmental and human rights issues throughout the world to ballet, bands, or culinary conquests—Doctober has it all. The weird, the wonderful and everything in between.

Doctober is a partnership with other organizations to bring important issues to attendees, with filmmaker visits, special guests, pre-screening receptions and guided discussions. pickfordfilmcenter.org.