Sarah Brayer was born in Rochester, New York, and has lived in Japan since 1979. Sarah has become deeply involved in making paperworks, a process in which an image is formed by pouring pigmented paper pulp onto a bamboo screen. The pulp is manipulated not with brushes, but by tilting the screen, spraying it with water, and using the hands as a drawing tool. Sarah states, “Part of what is so wonderful about working in the medium of paper is that the space of the work and the rhythm allow me to work in a stream of consciousness. The images are literally pouring out, and I don’t know consciously where they’re coming from. I’m able to take risks that I probably don’t in everyday life. That is very liberating!”
The subject matter of Sarah’s early prints is Japanese in nature, yet any viewer can easily relate to events and feelings in his or her own life. Sarah is the first western woman ever to have her work selected for the cover of the CWAJ Contemporary Japanese Print Show in Tokyo. She is the only westerner who has been invited to make her handmade paper art work in the 800 year old papermaking village of Echizen. Her work has been collected by The British Museum and The Smithsonian.
Sarah describes her creative process as “leaping into the unknown and finding your footing.” Through a series of leaps, Sarah has gone from being a talented, successful American artist living in Japan to someone who has found a unique style and has taken her skill to a new level.
Museum Collections:
British Museum
The Sackler Gallery
Zimmerli Art Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum
Smithsonian
Oregon Art Institute
Rochester Memorial Art Gallery
U.S. Embassy Tokyo
U.S. State Department
