Filling A Need

from Live Lee - Let's Take It Downtown - Issue 4

Steeped In History

Story By JD McCarthy Photos Contributed By Sarah West

Growing up in Smiths Station, there was no place for Sarah West to go and learn about the art that had captivated her attention.

Fast forward to 2021 and she is now the proud owner of The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art: A Center for Cultural Arts, which has been educating the local community about art, sustainability and cultural appreciation since opening in 2008.

“It was recognizing a need in this community and recognizing that sometimes it’s up to the pioneers to bring that to fruition,” West said. “In that way I feel like we are cultural pioneers here. We are filling a need because people are looking for this corner of the world that is missing from their lives.”

West, who is an American narrative painter, believes that while they have a formal art gallery that exhibits her work, the gallery’s primary mission is to foster a cultural appreciation of the arts and to help artists of all ages and abilities grow.

“Our primary function is, as a cultural arts center, to facilitate that need and help people thrive,” she said. “That has been the greatest reward in what we do, that’s the prize in our process.”

To help foster this education, West created the Sarah West

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Downtown

Gallery of Fine Art Studio Program, which features over “80 Fine Art Classes, Workshops and Courses of Study to artists of All Ages, Levels and Styles,” according to the website.

The classes are academic in nature and are influenced by both the masters in each medium and American art. Classes typically last for 10 weeks and include a weekly studio class, as well as instructional sessions based on age for children (ages five through 11), youth (ages 12 through 17) and adults.

“Everything begins with fundamental drawing so anyone who studies with us is first required to complete a course in fundamental drawing,” West said. “That serves as the basis for everything. My belief is if you establish a good foundation then you can build upon that and the sky is the limit.”

After, they can continue to draw in various mediums, such as graphite, charcoal, colored pencil or pastels. While some students choose to draw, there is also the option to move onto painting, which is offered in watercolor, acrylic, oil, mixed medium, brush and ink and more.

In addition to this program, the gallery is constantly coming up with ways to help “nurture and educate” people. One of the latest of these is the ART IN SCHOOLS program.

The program is a collaboration between the gallery and the Lee County Board of Education and was created when West learned that some of the schools did not have an art program throughout the school year.

“ART IN SCHOOLS is a program which is offered to all Smiths Station elementary schools and then that also continues to other Lee County elementary schools such as Salem and Loachapoka,” Smith said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March and schools were forced to go online, West was unsure if they would be able to offer the program. However, they were able to upgrade the program and through the creation of THE ART BOX, the program is now offered virtually and in-person. “THE ART BOX is a way to not only provide a complete comprehensive fine art course to elementary school students, but also provide them with the supplies they need,” West said. “Not only do we provide the education, but we also place every tool in the student’s hands that they need to complete the course so that no one, regardless of background or financial status, is limited in what they can achieve.”

Each box is curated by West and allows her to use her experience to select the best products for her students to prevent students from being overwhelmed when they attempt to purchase the supplies they need. This allows her to balance the price, sustainability and quality of the product.

The boxes contain everything from brushes to pencils to sharpeners and contain whatever the student will need to complete the course and are also available for purchase for the general public.

The outreach also includes scholarships through The Sarah West Artistic Mentoring Scholarship for Continued Fine Art Education.

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This program allows participating schools and teachers to award scholarships to students throughout the school year. This also includes the Scholarship Seed Fund which allows someone to purchase a course of art lessons and the gallery then distributes the gift to “an aspiring art student in need.”

These scholarships are just another way that the gallery is filling a need in the local community, West said.

“We never stop. We never stop finding ways to improve upon ourselves and refine our programs then offer more. So, we are in a constant state of developing more. We have to continue to develop things that can nurture and educate people of all walks and skill levels.”