Redstone-based artist Sarah Uhl has long been interested in storytelling and movement.
She traveled extensively during her teens and early 20s as a professional bike racer. Even once Uhl moved from biking to other work, her passion for outdoor landscapes stayed the same. By 2013, when Uhl started a position with the 5Point Film Festival, she felt inspired by storytelling and creative expression.
“Stories are an ancient form of connection for humans and I felt like I had stories to tell!” she said.
Uhl told The Sopris Sun that she has always considered herself an artist. She experimented with a variety of mediums, but “watercolor kept coming back around as one of my favorite playgrounds,” and is the focus of two workshops she is teaching in Redstone next month.
“It’s a diverse medium that took time to make my own,” she said, “but in many ways, I think working with such a fluid water-based art form has allowed me to overcome some of my rigidity and experience more magic in life.”
While Uhl has worked as a professional artist since 2013, she said that in recent years she has moved toward more work teaching watercolor classes and leading art retreats. “I have had to find a balance between work and home life since I started my family six years ago,” she said.
Uhl took a year off of teaching starting last summer to focus on her young children. Now that her youngest son is several months old, Uhl is starting workshops again.
The first, on Sept. 12 from 3 to 6 pm, centers the theme of fall landscape painting through the five senses. Uhl plans to facilitate a somatic journey through the five senses, exploring mind, body and spirit through art. The second, on Sunday, Sept. 20 from 9am to 12pm, is titled Fall Equinox and the Four Elements. Uhl will guide participants in drawing inspiration from the Crystal River Valley scenery as they develop their paintings.
Uhl said she loves introducing beginner-level artists to painting because “it’s fun for me to focus on empowerment and helping people unearth their innate curiosity that comes out as creativity.” She explained, “I love leading workshops and retreats because I truly believe we are all creative beings.” Uhl wants watercolor to be a starting point for her students. “It’s my hope that painting can be a portal to more creative expression at large — not just more and better watercolor paintings.”
Uhl said she receives inspiration from the natural world. “I’ve always believed in the phrase ‘you are nature, nature is you,’” she said, “so from that perspective I think we are all connected and a part of a greater interwoven web of life.” Her process can be meditative. “I have enjoyed focusing on whimsical and imaginative landscapes because that is the place I feel and connect with beauty most easily,” she said. “Spending time in nature and drawing upon those experiences and memories feels like the way I connect most deeply with myself.”
Sharing that kind of connecting experience motivates Uhl. She views the autumn equinox as a time to reflect on balance as the seasons change. Holding workshops in Redstone allows her to combine her love of the outdoors and creative expression. “I am so grateful to have found my home in the Roaring Fork Valley — such an amazing place to raise a family in such close proximity to nature,” she said. “Art just seems like the bridge between it all!”
Both the Sept. 12 and Sept. 20 workshops cost $150 per participant. That price includes a paint kit from Greenleaf & Blueberry, an artisan paint company based in the Grand Valley. The Sept. 12 workshop includes guided meditation and journaling in addition to the paint instruction, and the September 20 event includes guided exploration of the Crystal River valley. To learn more about the offerings and register, visit sarahuhl.com/workshops