Sarah Baldwin

If you ask Ms. Baldwin what she enjoys doing in her free time, she will tell you hiking, biking, running, gardening, and staying in touch with a pen pal! In fact, Ms. Baldwin has had a paint pal who she would trade watercolor-painted postcards with. 

One of my favorite lessons is actually a warm-up that I rely on at the beginning of each year because it is a low-stakes, lighthearted partner activity with a whimsical output. It helps students shake off any fallacious expectations regarding what qualifies as good art. Students are asked to sit across from a partner with nothing more than pen and paper. They are instructed to draw one another without looking down at their papers and without lifting their pens. This is called blind contour drawing. This warm-up encourages hand-eye coordination, deep focus, and observation. The portraits always resemble one of Picasso's cubist creations, giving students a good laugh. I like that it helps to set a positive tone for the year.

I've always been a collector. As a child, this tendency manifested itself through collections of rocks, buttons, fabric scraps, and more. I used to keep notebooks full of lists and poems. In adulthood, my collections have expanded to include everything from seeds and old photographs to novels, quotes, conversations, songs, experiences, and more. I am always gathering and learning. Both my artistic and pedagogical practices serve as spaces where my collections take shape in meaningful ways. I am fascinated by the myriad ways in which my childhood curiosities resurface through my artwork and daily life.

Last year I explored the history and symbolism of Japanese carp kites with my first-grade students before making kites of our own. Students explored patterns and symmetry while creating their colorful kites. We completed our kites by attaching long streamers to their ends. Kites deserve to be flown, but it wasn't a windy day. So on a whim, I decided that we would parade our kites around campus by running a lap around Georgia Nelson with our kites overhead. At first, I think my students thought that I was joking. But then we all took off running, and all I could hear were giggles and flapping streamers behind me. We brought our kites to life, and students were able to experience their artwork in its proper context: outside, flying above us all.

Be a good human. Raise good humans. Read everything I can. Connect with others through my artwork. Radiate love in all that I do.

Our independent bookstores, local artists, small businesses, public libraries, and my community garden.

VAPA Department Chair, Literary & Arts Magazine Club Advisor

2020

A Master of Fine Arts degree in interdisciplinary arts, Goddard College

Bachelor’s degree in art history and studio art, Wofford College