Congratulations to artist Sandy Bahrich, our latest ArtResin winner! Based in Steveston, BC, Canada, Sandy is the creative force behind Firefly Notes Creative, where she designs and makes beautiful, functional boxes for secrets, notions and everyday treasures.
Does where you're from or where you currently live influence your work?
I live in a cute seaside town and my studio is on a Fisherman's wharf. The location in a sense fills me and inspires a certain quiet that allows me to dream and create.
What's your art background? Are you self-taught or did you study art?
I am self taught. I have always been a creative. My teens were spent with a Pentax around my neck and my 1st apartment doubled as a darkroom for developing photographs and I have added to that creative repetoire ever since.
Are you a full-time artist or do you create around work hours?
I am in this full time.
What do you love about the mediums that you use in your work?
I love the nostalgia of the imagery I work with. They give me little endorphin hits when something speaks to me!
How did you discover resin?
I discovered resin at a craft store, trying to figure out how to make something glossy, beautiful and durable. ArtResin specifically from a friend who was looking for something less toxic than the typical craft store resin.
How has resin impacted your artwork?
Resin’s gloss takes it to the next level.
Can you provide a brief rundown of your process?
After I design and print and apply my image to its base we are ready to begin the process. 3 of us each day at my studio begin our resin session by turning off the 3 HEPA filters we use to decrease dust (they don’t really help in all honesty, lol), vacuum, spray the air and floor with water to bring the dust down while we warm the resin (fall and winter) with a space heater. Then it is showtime!
Why do you want to make art? What motivates you to create?
It brings me a sense of calm. It connects me with who I am at my core and I don’t have to be anyone in that moment but myself for myself. It is meditative.
Does art help you in other areas of your life?
Design and craft have given me not only a sense of peace and purpose but they it puts food on my table. My creations have propelled me to learn about business and unlock another side of myself that I didn’t know existed. The business side of it is actually fun for me too and my knowledge and experience in this field have grown tremendously over the years.
What do you hope someone sees or feels when they look at your art?
I hope that they feel a sense of nostalgia and home. That they feel something familiar in what they see, something cosy.
How do you define success as an artist? What does that look and feel like
for you?
Success, for me, is found in the daily hum of my studio, when ideas turn into something real under my hands, a design that clicks, little wins like opening up the bins after a resin session and having no dust and of course the satisfaction of making something beautiful and lasting.
What's your favourite resin tip you'd like to share with our readers?
Spray spray spray the room with water before you resin (cover your work before you do this!)- we add a touch of mint oil too, so our studio smells great!
Where do you sell your work?
I have 4 online platforms. Etsy (the OG, been on there for 17 years!), Faire, and I have 2 Shopify websites, one retail and one wholesale.
Congratulations on your win, Sandy!
To see more of Sandy's work:
Follow her on Instagram: @fireflynotes
Visit her website: www.fireflynotesonline.com
Every month, to celebrate our community of artists, ArtResin will send out a 32 oz kit to two lucky people who have shared the work they've created with ArtResin.
ArtResin: The Original Epoxy For Resin Art!
