Artist Sarah Rick works in many mediums
Artist Sarah Rick has childhood sketches of wrestlers she watched on TV late into Thursday nights (provided her homework was done) safely kept in a blue and weathered, cloth-covered notebook at her Sallis home.
The drawings were made on the flip-side of work orders her engineer father brought home. The pages are somewhat yellowed and their corners rounded a bit, but they remain well-organized thanks to the dates that appear on the orders. Usually, it’s easy to tell the good guys from the bad ones, though its unclear which the “Original Zebra Kid” was.
Rick can point to artwork on her home’s walls that were created by older, extended family members, as well as clay figures and pottery fashioned by her then art-student mother, when asked to explain her background in art. She also studied art history at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania. However, it is when she talks about her public-school art education that her enthusiasm surfaces.
It is an experience she wishes for future generations, and hopes that it does not get swallowed up by budget cuts and the emphasis placed upon STEM courses.
“There’s no one best way to do something in art,” Rick said. “It teaches possibilities, not duplication.
“That’s something that carries over into other forms of problem solving—not copying, exploring.”
The possibilities Rick has explored post-wrestling phase include watercolor, pastels, charcoal and ink drawings, painting in many mediums, quilting and her go-to silhouette-like cut-outs.
She is fond of quick drawings made of strangers she happens upon when she’s out and about, as well as making gifts and cards out of prints of her work. She’s also an active member of the Kosciusko Quilt Guild, which meets the second Tuesday of each month.
A familiar site at the area’s fairs and festivals, where she sells pieces and produces portraits, she will be returning to the Big Black River Festival in West on Sept. 8, and at the annual Kosciusko fall arts festival in October.
For those interested in buying or commissioning work, or just talking art, Rick can be found at the Attala County Farmers Market most every Saturday, where she sells produce grown by her husband Robert and herself.
