A bit about me.

I've been in the graphic design industry for over nine years and make a living doing what I love - creating art. My favourite part of the design process is getting that "YES! That's it! That's the one - " moment after showing someone a finished design. 

My style tends to be bold and controlled with a curvaceous flair. I've designed everything from logos to funeral brochures, websites to book covers and everything between and otherwise. 

Of all my projects, my favourite ones to work on tend to be the 3d paper box designs. I also really like clean and daring logos, and creating illustrations for Children's colouring books.

I grew up with a farmer's lifestyle, living on a green hill and fetching escaped chickens during midday frolics. I later became a city-dweller as a strong graphic designer owning several businesses. 

But I owe a lot of the credit to my dad; basically, when computers first came out - my dad was at the front of the line. As a result, us kids grew up as some of the first programmers and graphic designers, with nothing else to do on a farm in the winter except sharpen our skills - we've been doing it since it was a thing to do. 

But more than that, what got me from point A to point B is I've had incredible influences in my life. 

1. Strong family members who taught me to challenge the status quo

2. Passionately political friends who taught me to care about the world around me

3. Compelling teachers who showed me there is more to life than just working for money

Because of this, it is my focus to help others do what they love and better the world around them. I do what I love, and choose to participate in projects which inspire optimism. 

Just felt like sharing. :) 

Exaltation - I don't take it lightly

I no longer believe the church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints is the true church of God.

When my mom found out, she gracefully reacted with love which shocked me because she strongly believes the church is the only way to be with God again.

Later, after many other events took place, my dear mother with love in her heart and tears in her eyes told me how grieved she was that I was choosing to live as I was. I tried to comfort her by saying I could understand how she felt and that I felt the love for me which she had. But instead of feeling heard or understood, she said, "No, you can't possibly understand! There is so much more you're losing, your exaltation for example. But of course, you don't believe in that anymore."

Well, I just want to say I do understand. Do you think it was easy to leave the church knowing my exaltation was on the line? I wasn't doing what I did without thinking. It took much thought, much prayer, much action and talking things through - these sorts of things aren't simple or small, so it's not as if I don't understand that to her it would seem that my exaltation was being risked by my decisions.

I'm happier now, and more certain in the uncertain. I love not knowing everything - it just means that there is so much more to discover. :)

Out of office email:

Hello! 

Thanks for your email! This is an automated response to let you know I'm away right now and haven't actually read your email yet. I'm celebrating the holidays with family until Dec 27th and will read and respond to emails in the order they were received after that date.

If this is an urgent or time-sensitive matter, you can get a hold of me via text or phone. If so, feel free to call or text me. Phones are more fun anyways. :)

Sarah
(c. XXX-XXX-XXXX)

printy.ca

The Urge to Wake

When the urge to

transform hits you

like a bullet -

take the hit,

let it change you

there is never another now.

Don't wait on social cues,

don't wait for them to approve

just take the leap

and do it.

No matter the cost

it's worth any loss

to learn and change,

as life appears

to wake you.

Go ahead, make mistakes.

Thought of the day:
"It's OK to make mistakes, because you'll make a lot of them. Just learn to laugh at them so you will be laughing every day." - Robert Goforth

I've noticed that the most successful people in my circles are the ones who have become comfortable making a lot of mistakes and experimenting constantly.

We don't have to be afraid of failure. In fact, I know of no other tool to reach success.

I don't buy it.

"When your brain assigns equal importance to several things at once your attention bottle neck jams. You go attentionally blind to EVERYTHING. It can be merely annoying or catastrophic - for example, a driver engrossed in a cell phone conversation may go mind-blind to an obstacle right in front of his eyes."

"It's unnerving, then that humans have created an environment unnaturally jammed with attention-grabbing information. Take advertising (please). Our brains evolved to pay close attention to unusually bright colors, food, sex, babies, physical danger and other information salient to survival. So marketers bombard us with such images, making them even brighter, louder, gorier, geared to out compete all other attention demands."

It's also quite interesting then, that religions create this ultimate attention grabbing idea of eternal damnation and eternal judgment. Who's not gonna get a little freaked out by that notion? Something we can't see, can't touch, and can't fight is gonna steal our eternal souls into a never ending agony if we don't do what they say.

Somehow, that doesn't sound like an unconditionally loving, selfless, wise God that they teach about.

Ah well, back to the drawing board.

Dear God

I'd like to have a conversation. On behalf of the people who feel the same as I do. Let's have a short conversation if you will.

You're a pretty swell being. I don't know if you're a guy or a gal or if you perhaps are this great neurological connection between the stars and planets and galaxies, and I don't know what to call you oft times because there seems to be such an accumulated stigma around your name.

God. One word, and many people have fought over that word. Do you even relate to the word? Do you think of yourself as a God in any respect that we do? Or are we wrong altogether in thinking there is one being or a bunch of beings out there who as a collective make up "God"?

My guess is that you are me. You are us. You are all of us put together in this great cosmos of a dream. Who's to say we are not measuring up to you, when you very well may be us? So far, I would have thought that thought was such a blasphemous thought to think you'd have struck me down with lightning! I'm either as lucky as all the others who believe such things who've been spared such a fate, or I am you, and in turn you are I.

Perhaps there is no distinction between you and I, because you and I are part of the same process. Is a Manager at Wal-Mart any less engaged in the goings on of the store than a regular employee? Is the Owner of the Wal-Mart chain any less engaged in the company than the Manager of one store? I think one can not function without the other. If either one stopped existing either someone would rise to fill the empty space or the whole thing would collapse altogether. My suspicion is that you are as much invested in our lives as we are, and either you already are us, or your sole interest is in our growth and development as a species.

I'd wager you're a very calm and peaceful God, and you more or less take the position of watching us over here doing what we do, day in and day out, mostly curious, mostly intrigued and a little amused. If I were God, I would be amused. I think there is much less hands-on involvement on your part than what we have recorded in the history book of the Bible because you aren't "trying" to change us in the way we all seem to think you are. When we mess up, you don't smite us like it says you did.

Yet here we are, we fight battles in your name, wear badges of honour as we argue and kill ourselves for you, but I don't think you want that. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're just watching us shaking your head, thinking, "They'll get it eventually... After they reincarnate enough times, they'll get it." I don't think the pain we see around us and experience is permanent, yet I'm not about to inflict more pain just because I said it isn't permanent. It just seems like maybe it'd be nice of you to throw us a bone in helping us get a glimpse of you and your purpose for us a little sooner. I'll admit it would be real cool of you if we didn't think killing each other were the way to win your heart in our favour. Maybe you could send a message to prove we oughtn't do that? Then again, who would believe you in these days of technology? Then again, aren't you all powerful?

Then again, I'm also pretty certain that you have this mischievous plan to inform us of these very things, but that you don't deliver your message by beaming yourself down in a ray of light and declaring it like a bolt of lightning. I'd take a stab at it that if you are us (once again, there's that theme) and that as us, you speak through us, and it very well could be that in my wonderings and wanderings you speak your words through my words. And through Jessy's words. And Mandy's. And Brady's. And and and... Everybody's words. Because if we are you, and you are us, we are just waking up, just discovering ourselves learning to speak your words better than ever before - figuring out our identity. What a beautiful thing to be a part of. What a beautiful sentiment to believe that I am part of God, waking up.

And so, if I am God, and God is me, and God is you and her and him and they... Then we are all innately loveable, worthy, interesting and worth it. Our future, God's future is in our hands.

And so, with that in mind, I want to offer a little more encouragement to all the other Gods out there.

If you're in a place where you don't know what to do... If you're in a place where you feel stuck or afraid... Know this:

There is a part in stories where it looks like everything is about to fall apart. The hero is up against the wall and it looks like the bad guys will win. The hero barely recognizes himself as the hero. Well, now you know. It's just after that dimly lit chapter when things start looking up, characters realize something beautiful about themselves, miracles occur, and BAM! Suddenly everything changes.

Well, life is like those stories. And you're at that part of that book. And it just so happens you are the hero. Not just the hero, but the God. I'm looking forward to reading the next few chapters.

So I'd like to offer a prayer that we might all see the truth in ourselves, and see the God in each other. May we stop arguing and fighting over the details. May we embrace each other in love no matter our faith, no matter our beliefs.