Sarah Nisbett talks about her creativity like a set of drawers in a cupboard. Every time she tries to close one of the drawers, another one pops open in response. Sarah learned to draw on the subway travelling to opera gigs, and now she uses her creativity and performance skills as a live sketch artist and illustrator.
A former opera singer and self-taught live illustrator, Sarah Nisbett loves to draw the people, places and things she encounters “on the way.” Her Drawn On The Way project is helping people find the extraordinary in the everyday and to see themselves and others as works of art. Read the transcript.
QUOTES
“I learned how to draw on the New York subway. It was a strange kind of art school.”
“I was curious about people. Who is this person? And that was an experience I liked.”
“I had a realisation “what if there was no more work or gigs?” I realised that being successful meant travelling a lot and there’s a toll on your mental health. I didn’t know if that was my future.”
“The more successful I was in opera, the high wire got thinner and taller and I thought I don’t know if this (opera) is more important than everything else in life.”
“I was always interested in advertising, in the words, pictures and storytelling. I realised I do that as a performer.”
“What are the things in myself I would like to get paid for?”
“Today I am “playing” the role of competent office worker.”
“Your creativity and music is always a part of you, you just need to find a way to let it out.”
“Drawing in stolen moments was my oasis.”
“I started sharing my work online, to tell a story and to help people have a beautiful experience.”
LINKS
IMAGE CREDIT
Eian Kantor
PODCAST TEAM
Production Support from Molly Jenkins
Audio Engineering from Frazer Ruddick
Theme Music Composed by Danna Yun
Theme Music Performed by Jasper Ly
RECORDED
Recorded on 16 August 2021