Sarah Ashford ///
Born ///
Somerset, England
Blue Silo Artist ///
Since 2012
Education ///
•BA, Somerset College of Art & Technology, Taunton, UK
•West Surrey College of art & Design, Surrey, UK
•Colorado Institute of Art, Denver, CO
Medium ///
Mixed Media, Painting, Drawing, Collage
Upon entering Sarah’s long narrow studio, you immediately notice these large windows facing West toward the iconic silos which have now become the building’s beacon. To the left of the entrance, she's placed large rows of shelves, organized by multiples of the same materials and tool types: brushes, tape, and scissors. These are Sarah's go-to's when she’s working on a commission for a client or her own collage and found-object series. She’s been at this for over 35 years and began making art in High school in England. She came over to the U.S. when she was out of college. Sarah primarily works in mixed-media and is known for her large collage pieces, mélanges of leftover material from other projects with beautifully layered colors. Some drawing is often mixed in to provide figurative elements and depth. More recently, she's begun painting on large pieces of found driftwood, a series of sculptures that mimic the shapes of birds in flight. They sit tall on her large work table near the windows on custom-made long steel stems, giving these bird-like forms a view outside, as if they flew into her space to land. Leaving her space, you see hanging on the door, held so appropriately by blue painter's tape, that familiar Barack Obama “HOPE” poster. It gives off an air of encouragement and I can’t help but think, perhaps this is what Sarah came all the way overseas to experience.
BIRD BEAUTY ///