The Muse Gallery Artist: Sara L. Broers Brown

Butterfly Migration of 80 Butterflies

Sara L. Broers Brown

Viewed as a collection, Brown's work reads as a journal of her inner self. Though her pieces range from realistic renderings, Surrealistic interpretations, mixed media collage, abstractions, to art quilts, each piece represents emotional and intellectual responses to the world around her. Influences of artists such as Georgia O’Keefe, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Cornell, and Frida Kahlo are evident in her work.

The natural ebb and flow of life is reflected in Brown's body of work. Her subject matter moved from still life and landscapes to a more personal level in 2002. Her subject matter began to focus on the female experiences that are often hushed in the public forum. She sought to visually discuss such topics as miscarriage, beauty maintenance, and societal roles with metaphoric symbolism. She started to experiment with layering techniques incorporating printed material, paper, fabric, and other found objects.

Another shift in Brown's work is now evident with the 2006 series of collage paintings, Butterfly Migration. With two little ones now running around her feet as she works, she has adapted to a process that utilizes the small amounts of creation time. She continues to work in layers of visual texture and color with fabric, paper, and acrylic paint. Though these works are filled with graceful beauty and playful design, there is an underlying sense of tension to mirror Brown's present life as a mother. The flowing movement is feminine and meditative and symbolizes her metamorphism into motherhood. There is beauty and grace in this new role. Yet, concurrently, there is underlying tension as she strives to discover her new identity.

Brown has participated in many juried shows during which she has been awarded several first place awards and an award of merit. She was awarded Rookie Art Educator of the Year in 2002, by the Colorado Art Education Association. In 2003, she was represented by the Amsterdam Whitney Fine Art, Inc. in Chelsea, New York, NY. Her work was featured in the July 2003 show, Visionary Vignettes. Her artwork can be found at The Muse Gallery and The Bead Lounge in downtown Longmont, Colorado.

With layers, vivid colors, and visual narrative, Sara L. Broers Brown's artwork is the vehicle she uses to explore worlds big and small, intimate and public. Her work gives voice to all the amazing roles of being female.