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Sarah Kulig 1    Sarah Kuilg 2    Sarah Kulig 3    Sarah Kulig 4

Sarah Kulig 5     Sarah Kuilg 6     Sarah Kulig 7

"it is impossible to make clear the aim of a work of art by means of words... the artist himself can never... grasp or recognize fully his own aim."
-Wassily Kandinsky-

My work is about emotion and mystery. I was nervous the first time I started painting on the large panels that have become the core of my Portfolio work. I was nervous that I would start a project and run aground creatively. Once I started moving the paint across the white surface, however, I felt my nerves dissolve into exhilaration. My best artwork is produced when I let the mind go for a time, and simply let the colors and shapes move the brush. I stopped trying to think of what I wanted to paint and what should be the end result. I liked the feeling of starting with one shape and then moving through colors to explore how the mood changed -- both the painting's mood and my own response. The shapes were fun! As I continued making other panels, I liked seeing a pattern emerge. Problems arose as I kept on painting; I struggled to delve more deeply into the meaning of my paintings. What made me paint? How do I create? Examining the meaning made it harder and harder to paint new pictures. The analysis kept me from the most important aspect of my art -- the emotion. I became wary of my artwork because I didn't know what it meant. How could I be an artist if I didn't know what I was trying to say with each shape and color and tone? However, Kandinsky was correct when he said an artist doesn't truly comprehend his own goal. By continuing my painting, I have slowly come to terms with my uncertainty. I cannot go into a work knowing what I want the end result to be, because then I miss the discovery. I know that it's okay that I don't know exactly what all my paintings mean. I have no tangible description of what each one represents. I know the process of creating is one that should be full of mystery. I hope that I can interest the audience by leaving the mystery in my work. Art is not about struggling through the analysis and planning that directs much of my life, but moving, free-falling, towards undiscovered parts of myself.

© Images from paintings & sculptue by Sarah Kulig,
Mascoma Valley Regional High School, 27 Royal Road, Canaan, NH 03741