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Local artists to be a major focus of the upcoming Culture and Harvest Festival

SASART behind much of the event’s artistic showcase
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More examples of Savannah’s creative expressions. Mark Weber/Lacombe Express

For local artist Savannah from SASART, there really are no boundaries when it comes to artistic expression.

“I’m a completely custom and free-hand artist,” she explained during a recent chat.

She covers the gamut from being commissioned for pieces to creating her own original works to teaching art classes and lessons - all of which fall under the name of her company SASART.

“Students aren’t restricted when it comes to style, medium or subject,” she said, adding that she teaches all ages and all skill levels.

“I love the variety. I’ve been told I should find a niche, but for me, I’ve wanted to be well-rounded and to have as much experience to be able to do something like this full-time.

“I also enjoy showing youth that they can expand on their own creativity - they can improve on those skills. And they can also find new styles and mediums that they may not now know they would be interested in. I like to open those doors for them, and to show them that there are many different facets to art.”

Originally from the Stettler area, she has called Lacombe home for the past several years.

“Between all of my travels and from living in different places, I’ve expanded my mediums, styles and subjects that way, too.”

But the passion to explore artistic expression was sparked at an early age. She recalls using a simple pen to do drawings.

Then she took up the pencil. “And that’s where all the free hand (style) came from,” she explained, adding that by the age of five she had won her first art contest.

“It was a pastel chicken on a fence, I believe,” she added with a laugh.

It’s also something of a family thing, as both parents have a love for the visual arts as well.

“They are both very artsy - my dad is more on the ‘realism’ side, while mom is more on the ‘cartoon’ side. So I kind of got a mix of them both.

“I started doing commissions for people by the time I was eight or nine years old.” It was ultimately about expanding her skill set as she went along, and picking up different mediums as her journey unfolded.

As mentioned, today she owns SASART, a term she describes as kind of a play on her name and her personality. “It’s my artist name and my business name.”

She’s also playing a key role in this year’s Culture and Harvest Festival, set to run Sept. 23-25 on the Lacombe Ag grounds.

She’s on the committee plus she will be creating some artwork on site, along with five other artists that she has invited to the event.

Five giant fishing lures have been created by Merv from The Back Shed Woodworker. Each lure is about six ft. tall. The guest artists will be working on their own individual lures painting ‘live’ Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Plans for these works of art are to potentially place them around the City as art spots for the community to visit and explore when they are out and about.

Rounding out the guest artists are Bess Shepherd, E Webber Art, Forever Graceful Art, Kelvin Carl Christensen and Shaelynn Albers.

“I chose them for their passion for their art, their artistic skills and their portfolios.”

Savannah said there are a few components at play this year at the Festival in terms of art - creating works ‘live’ on site, a vendor component plus a demonstration component.

Tracey Richter, manager of the Lacombe Farmers Market, will be running ‘The Life of the Marketeer’ - a selection of vendors who will be demonstrating their art at the same time.

“That aspect will be going on all around us, while the six artists - me included - will be in the middle of this market.”

Savannah will be doing her own showcase called ‘Slice of Life’ with demonstrations in the middle of this creative hub of activity.

She will have custom-painted saw blades, wood cookies, wood burns and assorted rustic items that highlight the Lacombe Culture and Harvest Festival.

“For me, the entire artistic process - and what SASART is about, is about loving what you do, and doing what you love. For me, creating different artwork every day, being able to do my own works as well as doing work for other people, is really rewarding.

“And to top it off, to be able to pass those skills on to people of all ages really rounds it all out for me. Every day is different - it’s never the same thing twice.”

Check out sasart.squarespace.com

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Another sample of intricate artwork from SASART.
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Pictured here is a SASART creation from last year’s Culture and Harvest Festival. photo submitted
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One of the fishing lures the artists will be painting at this year’s Culture and Harvest Festival, set to run Sept. 23-25. photo submitted


Mark Weber

About the Author: Mark Weber

I've been a part of the Black Press Media family for about a dozen years now, with stints at the Red Deer Express, the Stettler Independent, and now the Lacombe Express.
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