Sara Weir: Finding the Light
Did you think of yourself as a creative kid? What did you do for fun?
Not especially, but I probably was. I was a ballerina and devoted to reading. It was my best friend that wanted to be a writer. I thought painters were gods but never learned to draw or paint.
What does creativity look like for you these days?
There are the obvious answers. Photographing my children on film when the moment and light hit just right. Journaling and writing about what this life feels and looks like. But it is also creative in the ways I am attempting to forge relationships with these people I’ve brought into the world. Giving space for them to find and know themselves it an extremely creative endeavor for me.
How much time do you get to work on creative projects?
I am lucky - My passions overlap with some of my children so I get to spend hours dancing ballet with them in the studio. In fact my daughters (fifteen and thirteen years old) and I perform in a professional company together. My youngest (two years old) just started a small play/therapy group twice a week. Those mornings are where I spend time writing.
How did motherhood change your creative practice?
In the beginning it shifted its focus. When my big girls were small I put all my creativity into house projects and sewing all their clothes. After the birth of my fourth child was born I rediscovered photography and started a wedding photography business which, you could say, was the catalyst to where I am now. With many meandering steps between of course.
How does art enrich your life? How does being a mother enrich your art?
I would say creativity enriches my life more than art. Art can feel unobtainable although I read literature everyday so you could say it has a heavy influence in that way. I am constantly forming my ideas and accepting new ways of thinking about my life. It’s beautiful.
Motherhood. I remember, just after my first child was born, I was with new friends in Central Park and this mother was talking about how if she didn’t have children she’d be so lazy. Having children made her do things because if she didn’t then nothing would get done. That has stayed with me. I think the same could be said for me. I could lay around and never get to work but because my children demand so much of me when I have 15 minutes to myself I make the most of them. I am amazed by the miracle that 15 minutes can accomplish not only in terms of productivity but for my own personal well being. For me the two, art and motherhood, are married. I cannot have one without the other. Our fibers are completely intertwined. I filter the art I consume through my experience as a mother. And my mothering is influenced by the art I consume. Somewhere in there I can’t keep silent and the work is made.
Tell us about a day in your life, how do you fit in creative moments?
Each day is different. Mondays I have dedicated to my studio unless a medical appointment can only happen that day. Tuesdays and Thursdays are playday days so I have two hours to write on those days. Then the evenings are spent in the ballet studio dancing at different capacities with my daughters and one son. In between that I listen to audible books during chores and write down the little pieces of wisdom that come throughout the day. If I am feeling inspired at night I will sometimes write then as well.
When do you feel most creative?
It cycles with mensuration. Sometimes I feel very inspired just before my period and sometimes it is the week after. But I actually notice the most when I feel a lack of inspiration. Knowing that that is tied closely to my cycle has helped me so much. I used to try to push through and create but it always ended in frustration. Now I have the luxury to put it down and just do whatever feels easy until the need to create returns. Luckily it always does.
Who would you love to collaborate with? What’s a dream project for you?
The dream is to land a gallery and create projects/works that have big showings and important conversations with the people who need them. With beautiful take aways in the form of framed works and smaller printed books or collectible items.
I also dream about putting my works on clothing. Clothing is a big creative outlet for me and I would love to see my photographs and words on big brand t-shirts and sweatshirts sort of street style meets high fashion.
Then of course I wonder where the writing will take me. I’d love to write something as impactful as Patti Smith’s M Train - a book about nothing.
What’s inspiring you outside of your own genre?
Oh gosh - everything. I love to go to the library or a book store and just go through every art book they have. I love museums and looking at what others have created beautifully. I also just love watching the women I attend church with. The ways they creatively cope with their individual struggles is extremely interesting to me. But I do have my hands in several industries so I am constant inspired by each of them and how they all influence each other in my own practice.
How would you like the world to see artists and mothers?
As viable. Important and worthy. No one is here without a mother, whatever that experience is and means. Great men were impacted by mothering either the greatness of it or the lack of it. It is perhaps the greatest stamp on humanity as a whole - mothering. So it should show up in conversations about and works of art.
What do you do when you feel burnt out or filled with doubt?
Recently I experience extreme familial push back on my writing. Since then it has been very difficult to push that publish button. Every artist I respect has talked about their fear and how they have to push through it. I agree. When I am in doubt I first consider what the doubt is trying to tell me. Is it fear of another’s reaction? Is it fear because I know it isn’t good enough? Is it that inner critic attempting to keep me small because that feels safer? Whatever the doubt is once I know where it’s coming from I can address it.
When I have felt true burnout I have pivoted. I have only experienced burnout when I have pushed myself to do things that were out of alignment for me. I can push myself for the sake of productivity and when I have those days I take a day off. I try to listen to what my inner knowing tells me I need to do to recharge. Then, if I can, I do that thing as soon as possible.
How can we support and encourage each other more?
It’s as simple as letting someone know you love what they’re doing. Often that’s all they need to keep going. Then, and if you truly believe in it, purchase from them when they have an offering that aligns for you as well.
What mothers inspire you? Who should I interview next?
Gosh I love Anastasia Pagonos. She’s not on substack but man she’s a powerhouse. I’d also love to hear more from Julie O’Rourke of Rudy Jude and Anna Wallack of Misha and Puff. Amazing “small” clothing brand designers and mothers. None of which are on Substack I don’t think, but maybe we can get them over here because they are creative geniuses.
What do you hope your kids will learn about creativity from you?
That it’s vital and always available. I remember waiting at a doctor appointment with my son when he was very small. It was so long and we were so bored so we went outside and took the river stones and fallen leaves from the landscaping and made an installation right there on the sidewalk. We felt better. Art is vital and always available.
If you had a million dollars to make the world a better place, how would you spend it?
These days a million dollars would barely make a dent especially on the world scale. But I love the sentiment. Education. I think I would direct it into education for those who have very limited opportunities.
If there was a movie version of your life, who would you like to play you and what story do you want her to tell?
I always think of Amy Adams because she was Mormon and she’s a red head. I’m Mormon and a red head! I also think she has a sincere sensitivity that I resonate with. I’d love for her to tell the story of a woman returning to ballet after having children in her late 30s. And show all the ways it made her come alive and become the best mother she could be. We serve our families best when we get to be our best selves. Whatever that looks like for each of us.
What would you bring to a favorites party?
This one just came up for me and I have two answers! The first is called the Delve Deck. It’s a deck of cards with sort of interview questions. My kids and I love to spent time asking them to each other. And the other is this fabulous lotion from my dermatologist. It goes on so smooth and light. Means everything living in a desert.
Sara Weir is in American film photographer, writer, professional ballerina and mother of five ages 15-2 living and working in the high desert of Nevada. Her work explores the tension of the mother-artist, observation of the self through imagery and text and photography not as artifact but as a tool for insight into the present. For ten years she photographed documentary portraits; now she turns her lens toward herself as memoir. You can find her on Instagram or visit her website saraweirphoto.com.
Nebula Notebook is a place to meet kindred spirits, get inspired, and learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process—even when life is bananas. 🍌🍌🍌
✏️ PS—The fastest way to grow as a writer is to book a manuscript critique or a creative coaching session with an expert. My clients get agents, sell books, and win awards. They also learn how to enjoy the creative process, so they can keep going when life gets hard. 👏
I love the distinction between "creativity" and "art" - that feels like such a big shift for me!