POST 001: GET TO KNOW SALLY SCOTT
✨ Welcome to REAL LIFE WITH US ✨
A space dedicated to inspiration and creativity.
Through this new series, we meet, interview, and celebrate remarkable creative women across South Africa — from artists and designers to entrepreneurs and storytellers. Each story highlights the creativity, courage, and drive that shape their journeys.
Our first feature introduces Sally Scott, an award-winning artist whose work embodies passion and imagination.
I had the privilege of spending time with this remarkable women & to hear & see story in her studio. See some Questions & Answers to learn a bit more about Sally.
Question1: Where do you find your greatest inspiration? Is it from other artists, nature, personal experiences, or somewhere else?
All my work reflects Nature and my love for the African landscape. I was born and raised in the bush, both in Zimbabwe and Botswana and without doubt my early life experience has had a lasting influence on my art. Having said that, however, each moment of inspiration usually slips into my consciousness quietly and comes from within, from a memory, an experience, an emotional response to a place or a scene that moves me. Although the artwork may appear to others as a landscape or an abstracted fibre artwork, it usually has a deeper, multi-layered, often spiritual meaning. Looking back over my body of work, I can see clearly that it has been a record of my life journey.
"Stay true to yourself. Keep doing what you’re doing, dancing to your own tune and listening to your instincts and inner voice, because that’s where authenticity lies and to be good at anything meaningful in life, you need to be authentic. Do not be intimidated by the so-called critics in the art world. Follow your path, respond to your calling and believe that you can do it."
Question2: What was your "aha!" moment when you realized you could make a career out of your art?
Question3: What's a project you're particularly proud of, and what made it so meaningful to you?
Question4: Can you talk about the importance of building a personal brand and how you've cultivated yours?
"In my mid 20’s, I visited acclaimed Zimbabwean artist, Wendy Rosselli, and I have a vivid memory of her inviting me into her studio sanctuary, with its smell of oil paint and turpentine and the gentle notes of Chopin filtering from the tape recorder. I followed her, as she moved between easels in her flowing kaftan, brushing past paint tubes and tables strewn with sketchbooks. She spoke with passion and I listened attentively as she discussed her paintings and what it takes to be an artist. She was so fully immersed in her art that I could not help but see that each painting was an extension of herself. She spoke with depth and conviction about the strengths and weaknesses of each artwork and I think it was in that atmosphere, that a seed of something was planted in me and I emerged realising that I would love to be an artist. At that point I had no idea how that might happen, but I knew in my heart that this was something I would love to do."
The Earth Project, commissioned in 2017 by Caroline Heinz-Youness of Lalibela Game Reserve in the E.Cape. The brief included a series of 5 African inspired dance aprons, which were to be earthy and African in feel and have a story to tell. Being a lover of Nature, textiles and all things African, this was a dream come true and turned out to be an exhilarating, but challenging project that pushed me to my limits. I was able to pull all my interests and experience together in one very meaningful project and to grow as an artist. Lalibela is one of South Africa’s premier game reserves and to have my work being seen by so many international and local visitors, was and is a great honour. To read the full story of this project, please visit my blog. This post starts off the journey: https:// sallyscottsart.wordpress.com/2019/01/18/the-making-of-an-artwork/ From there, read about each of the 5 skirts. It was an amazing project that challenged and inspired me.
I think it is important to develop a personal brand, but mine evolved quite organically. Right at the beginning, when I landed in Grahamstown, with little but a dream of how I would like my life to be, I met a graphic artist who offered to help me. She very quickly picked up on my personality and skills and set about creating a logo and a ‘look’ for me. We worked together on advertising for classes and workshops and she adjusted the colours and designs based on my responses. We worked well together and before long my advertising had become recognisable and people began to become aware that I was in town. An important next step was getting a good website designed and launched and this boosted my confidence and gave me a sense of credibility and a wonderful space to share my work. From there, I launched a blog and that helped get my story out and provided a space where I could share exhibitions and studio activities. From there I went onto Facebook to share stories, inspiration and artwork and more recently I have moved onto Instagram and a quarterly newsletter, where I post new work and advertise. The growth has been organic and evolved over time, so has never really felt unmanageable.
Question5: How do you approach the balance between creating what you love and creating what your audience or market wants?
I have learned that generally if you paint or make what you love from a place of curiosity and authenticity, there will be an audience for it. The soul of the artist shines through. A work that is generic and has no soul will generally not have appeal.
However, in the real world one needs to earn an income, so obviously an artist would like one’s work to sell. I still believe the work has to have soul and in order to achieve that, I would consider the market, my environment and my passion and attempt to pull them together. If I know that it’s a landscape exhibition for example, I would find a subject that moves me and then immerse myself in it, with the aim of producing something that resonates with my inner being. If I am happy with it, I trust that it will be good enough to go on show and will possibly find a buyer. If I have been commissioned, the same applies. If I have understood the brief, found source material that both I and the person commissioning me are happy with, I immerse myself in the process. When the artwork feels finished and I am happy with it, I trust that the recipient will be happy too.
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Question6: How do you approach the balance between creating what you love and creating what your audience or market wants?
I have learned that generally if you paint or make what you love from a place of curiosity and authenticity, there will be an audience for it. The soul of the artist shines through. A work that is generic and has no soul will generally not have appeal.
However, in the real world one needs to earn an income, so obviously an artist would like one’s work to sell. I still believe the work has to have soul and in order to achieve that, I would consider the market, my environment and my passion and attempt to pull them together. If I know that it’s a landscape exhibition for example, I would find a subject that moves me and then immerse myself in it, with the aim of producing something that resonates with my inner being. If I am happy with it, I trust that it will be good enough to go on show and will possibly find a buyer. If I have been commissioned, the same applies. If I have understood the brief, found source material that both I and the person commissioning me are happy with, I immerse myself in the process. When the artwork feels finished and I am happy with it, I trust that the recipient will be happy too.
Question7: Walk us through your creative process. What does a typical day or week look like for you when you’re working on a new piece or project?
I’m in the studio every working day and quite often at the weekends as well. On an average day, after getting up, I do my chores, send emails, set up online classes etc and then turn to my creative work. I take a short lunchbreak and then back into the studio for a couple more hours until the daylight fades. Then I go for a walk, cook supper and relax.
My working time is divided between teaching others and producing my own art, so the week is structured to allow for both. I offer 5 online drawing classes a week and have two weekly in-studio drawing classes. The rest of the time is dedicated to preparing for workshops or creating my own artwork. My creative process and approach varies, depending upon what I plan to do.
With landscape drawing and painting, first I go to the place I intend to draw, absorb the atmosphere and feel the spirit if the place, being particularly aware of the quality of light and shadow. I do quick sketches and then return to the studio. I look through the images to see which ones best capture the memory I have of the area, then I adjust the size and format for maximum impact and print off the source material. I work on good quality 50% cotton Hannemuhler paper, tape off the edges, attach it to a board and then set about sketching the composition, using a soft chalk pastel crayon. I block off areas of colour, building up the broadest areas first, gradually moving towards detail.
The process for Fibre Art and textiles is different. I usually begin with a challenge of some sort; an exhibition title, a theme or a concept I wish to convey. I begin by working in my art journal/sketchbook, jotting down ideas and scribbling small ink drawings that help me to visualise the structure. I usually annotate these drawings, adding extracts of prose and poetry or insights that arise as the ideas develop. This is often where the ‘layers of meaning’ arise. I see connections between my life and the ideas that are emerging. From here, I think about materials and move instinctively towards my fabric stash and drawers full of beads and trims. I dump my initial selection on the table and sit with them for a while, moving them around to engage with the conversations that are struck up between the different colours and textures. I may need to make some of my own materials or dye fabrics to the colours I need. I love this process and gain great satisfaction watching the pieces of coloured cloth flapping in the breeze as they hang on the washing line. I usually attach small fabric swatches into the journal to give me a sense of where I am going. Most importantly, for a project to succeed, there has to be an inner/outer resonance. Something about the shapes, colours and textures needs to excite me in order for me to proceed. From here, I start tearing or cutting the fabrics and pinning them to my pin board and after much sitting, looking, juggling colours and shapes around, the form starts to emerge and that’s when the stitching begins.
Question8: Who is your art for, and what do you hope they take away from it?
For me. It’s through my art that I process and make sense of the world and see the significance of my life experiences. It’s through making art that I can see more clearly and understand more deeply. It is a document of my life journey, my therapist and trusted friend.
For others, to see the world more vividly and to know that they too can visually express themselves. Art is the great healer and a builder of self-esteem. I hope that through seeing me immersed in my art, it will inspire others to do the same. For those who buy my art because it speaks to them, I hope it stirs their emotions and brings them joy.