Hello! My name is Sarah Stojevich and I am an artist currently working towards my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. I am a non-traditional student, being that I am a 42-year-old mother of two kids returning back to school to pursue my passion for art and creating works of art. I wanted to show my kids that it's never too late to chase your dreams. A piece that is special to me is called "Pileated". It is an acrylic painting that I did back in 2019 and one of my first paintings. I was working on a series of birds at the time and decided to paint one of my favorite backyard birds here in Minnesota, the pileated woodpecker. I was playing around with the looseness of my brushstrokes in the background, which was (and is) hard for me as my natural tendency is to stay tight to realism. It was a fun piece with bright colors and a subject that I adore. Another piece that I hold dear is my first bronze sculpture, which I titled "Tigre," which is "tiger" in Spanish. I was very nervous to be in a sculpture class, being that I had only ever dabbled in 2D arts, but found myself enamored by the 3D art world. I made the sculpture using the lost-wax casting process. Due to the facilities at the school, I was able to participate in pouring the bronze from the crucible into my casting mold. It was also through this sculpture that I learned how to use various power tools to cut and work the surface of the bronze. I fell in love with looking at objects in-the-round and how they fit into space. I love the idea of constructing art that has much visual weight and mass. It was an experience that change me as an artist and is why the piece means so much to me. Starting in the fall of 2019 through the summer of 2020 I was involved in a 1,000 sq/ft mural project at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. I was a mural mentee. I helped to gather information from the student body that would be used in the mural. I also helped with the community involvement aspect of the underpainting of the mural, to help students, teachers, and alumni paint portions of the mural. I submitted personal artwork for use in the mural, in which my self-portrait painting was chosen to be included, which I then got to take home and paint. (https://www.anokaramsey.edu/news/community-art-at-home/) I also got to help with the overpainting of the mural once it was installed on the walls of the school. It was an amazing opportunity to get to be so involved with this project. Also, from the Fall of 2022 through Spring 2023 I was asked to be on the Art Committee at Anoka-Ramsey. I was able to participate in a Percent for Art selection, in which we purchased a sculpture for the grounds of the school as well as many 2D works for the inside walls. I was also given a special assignment of Research and Development of the Campus Art Collection, in which I had to create a database of all of the artwork that Anoka-Ramsey Community College owns. After college, I want to have a studio practice that has a strong foundation and/or ties to conservation awareness using mixed media. I want my art to raise awareness for issues/causes near to my heart.