Cheyenne artist learned to 'grow slow,' and it's made all the difference

Sep. 1—Local artist Sarah Rusk wears a silver ring on her finger with the image of a pine tree.

It serves as a small reminder for her to "grow slow."

"(I) don't need to rush, because I've done a lot of things," Rusk said in her studio space at the Cheyenne Creativity Center on Thursday. "And I usually just dive in headfirst and fizzle out very fast because I don't love it."

Rusk then recalls some of the hobbies and professions she's pursued, including, but not limited to, yoga instructor, art teacher, massage therapist and university student; with hobbies including baking, making her own cheeses, knitting and crocheting.

The latter, however, she's stuck with and allowed to naturally progress into embroidery and mixed media art. Now, she's selling her art, incorporating new embroidery techniques and watercolors into her work, gaining the attention of both customers and fellow artists. It's accumulated into the opportunity to expand her sales offerings, pick up more embroidery work on the side and, recently, assemble a group of local fiber artists.

Her ring, and its reminder to "grow slow," is as important as ever.

"Just go slow, because if I grow too fast, then I'm gonna get overwhelmed, and I'll just panic and stop, or not love it anymore and stop," Rusk said. "But I really love what I'm doing right now, love these three art forms, and I don't want them to go away."

So far, Rusk has been responsible for finding and maintaining balance — a difficult task when creative processes and interests can be driven by contradictions.

She enjoys the tedium of monotonous tasks, while also being relatively restless, typically growing bored when she jumps into a new endeavor.

The fiber arts give her the flexibility to switch between different styles when she pleases, and the opportunity to redo a stitch upon error.

"All paintings go through an ugly phase, and that drives me nuts," she said. "Then I feel like I'm not good enough, or I really liked something and I'm scared to screw it up. But when it comes to thread, you poke a couple holes and you're like, 'Oh, I don't like that, and I can undo it and move forward again. It's an instant gratification. I actually get to see the lines moving forward."

At the same time, she also catalogs all the colors for quick color theory and does the same with the pieces of thread in her arsenal, categorized in a series of toolboxes.

Rusk can get so involved in her work that she's added a reminder on her phone just to drink water.

As a child, she was bold enough to draw and paint on walls and furniture but sly enough to do so on the underside of tables and inside of closets. Around the same age, she swore she would never be "the princess" that sat to embroider, preferring instead the person who picks up a sword and causes trouble — but here she is.

"It's just trying to find a balance. This is the funny thing — this is how I started doing watercolors and paintings with my embroideries," Rusk said about her work. "I was having a hard time seeing embroidery as an art style. So I (thought), 'Oh, I'll slap on a little bit of watercolor, and now it's art,' and all my friends are just like, 'No, no, it's already art.'

"So is it a craft, or is it art? I feel like I live on the outside of the bubble between the DIY craft world and the art world. I'm still trying to figure out how to make it more art, or consider myself an artist."

The struggle to find balance is even seen in the final product. Half of the pieces in her space are light and colorful, with landscapes of mountains and flowers; the other half are toeing the line into the playfully macabre.

Some toe the line perfectly, like small crocheted grim reapers and ghosts — things she hopes to sell during the Halloween season, though she still has a difficult time with the concept of selling her work. It's a personal obstacle that Rusk will likely have to conquer, given that her work is gaining more presence in the Cheyenne art community.

She has shown her work at both the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and at her favorite brewery, Freedom's Edge Brewing Co., in addition to landing booths at recent art events and seeking collaboration with other local artists. These were opportunities that came together due to encouragement from her friends and husband.

Moving her work space from her basement to the Cheyenne Creativity Center has also brought new inspiration. The four other artists regularly using the studio space have given her the opportunity to integrate further into the community and workshop new ideas. In the future, Rusk wants to be more involved in Cheyenne art events and the arts scene as a whole.

But there's no rush to get to that point. Rusk knows that forcing it becomes frantic, and people can feel when art is frantic.

"Weird things will happen, and you have to problem solve it on the fly," she said. "You have to take your time. It's very tedious to take your time, trying to work that knot out. And if you're frustrated at it, you're just gonna pull at it more, and you're gonna tighten that knot."

It's best to grow slow, or else you might get tangled up.

Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.