Meet Sara Woster | Artist, Writer, Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Woster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
There was not much of a life balance before I had kids. It was all about art. Or maybe it wasn’t so much a lack of life/work balance as it was that before kids I was balancing different things. The balance was art/life/day job. I prioritized making art and looking at art over normal things other people do like go to brunch, working out and have picnics in Central Park. The rest of my life was working day jobs to pay for all that art.

But when you have kids this all shifts, and it shifts basically overnight. It takes a while to figure out how to be a creative person and also be a good mom. I think about the balance all of the time now. I also think about how to make a marriage with two artists with two kids work for all four of those people. I guess it is just a different balance every day. My family is always the main focus but I try to make sure that art and teaching art is a close second. It is super difficult and I don’t know a single artist, especially in the case of my mom friends who are artists, who don’t find it a struggle. A worthwhile struggle! But a struggle.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
It has not been easy to start an art school. I had not predicted the hours spent trying to maintain my website. But it has been incredibly rewarding to see people go from saying “I don’t have a creative bone in my body” to creating an actual painting they like. There are so many wellness benefits to painting. And to have a goal of becoming really good at something can change your whole life. Our lives can be super tedious sometimes and having a challenge and being part of a community that is also trying to improve creatively can make life pretty awesome.

I wanted to go beyond just creating a space for art lessons; my goal is a creative community spot where everybody who loves art feels welcome. But I’m still trying to figure out how to make classes and experiences affordable and accessible to everybody who wants access to them while also bringing in some income.

I’m still learning about so many aspects of running a business. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and listen to podcasts on small business now, along with art videos. I’m trying to make sure that my mission to help people make art and live a creative life, not just get a hobby is clear so I”m reading more about marketing in order to get that message out. That marketing part is a challenge. It is all a challenge, really, except for teaching. The teaching part is a total joy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art never disappoints. Any special exhibit will be great or spend hours staring at great European paintings and strolling the Greek wing. Before or after you go hit up the Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel for a dirty martini.

Spend an entire day in Central Park, do not miss the roller skaters and get out on the row boats.

I love Valentino Park in Red Hook. Grab a pizza and a cocktail from Hoek Pizza and watch the sunset over the Statue of Liberty. Then go hang out at Strong Rope Brewery at the end of the pier. Finish the day off with Steve’s Key Lime pie.

Take a ferry or water taxi anywhere! But it is especially fun to ferry out to Far Rockaway, hang out on the beach, and get an ice cream.

On any Friday night in the summer go to Coney Island for roller coasters and hot dogs. Try to time your ride on the Wonder Wheel ferris wheel so that you are on the ride when the fireworks go off over the water at dusk and you get the world’s coolest view.

Spend the day in Manhattan walking from Greenwich Village to LES, Washington Square Park to Chinatown. Stop for a film at the Angelika. You can hit up so many fun neighborhoods along the way and so many cool stores, including Catbird and the Housingworks Bookstore in Soho. The Tenement Museum in LES. Then hit up Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles or soup dumplings at Joe Shanghai in Chinatown.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My grandma Marie was a total character. She lived on the banks of the Missouri River in South Dakota. A ranch wife and mother or 5, she was also a child prodigy piano player who could play anything by ear at the age of 3. She played piano for silent movies when she was still in grade school.

Her life might have looked small to a lot of people; she lived in the same town for 80 years, she didn’t want to travel much, hated airplanes. Some people probably thought her artistic talent was wasted. But she lead her life with creativity at her core. Her approach to life and creativity was vast. In her tiny, little house she had one entire room dedicated to making music with a piano, an organ, a drum kit, guitars and an accordion. There were books, cameras and record albums everywhere. People were encouraged to take photographs and make music.

After she became a widow she took up painting, learning to paint from a woman in her small town who was an amateur painting and when I knew her, my grandma’s house was filled with art supplies and artworks.
I was inspired by that woman who taught my grandma to start my art school in Brooklyn, The Painting School, because I wanted to create a similar community school where people could form a creative practice that would make their life a little more full and interesting. I have a drawing of 3 flying geese that my grandma drew in a place of prominence in the school.

Website: https://www.sarawoster.com

Instagram: @sarawoster

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-woster-41184051/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFIgMLMMQ02mploVcK2eprA

Image Credits
Maria Midoes
Gisela Guerios