By FRED KRONER
There are a finite number of hours in a day, but an infinite number of ways for Sara Jahn to spend that time.
She has to be creative.
That fits well in the life of an accomplished artist.
Her oil paintings can bring an everyday scene to life or force us to take a second look or, sometimes, to try and restrain our emotions.
All the while she is creating pieces that will be for sale or pieces that will be displayed in a juried exhibition, Jahn struggles to create the one thing she needs most.
Time.
Parents understand. First and foremost, raising two children with her husband is Jahn’s priority. Two boys, ages 4 ½ and 2 ½, demand time and attention. Jahn delivers.
“I would describe my work schedule as ‘whenever I can,’ since I can’t divide my attention in a way that would be fair to my kids or my art,” said Jahn, a 2008 Mahomet-Seymour High School graduate. “It’s one or the other, so I usually paint when they’re asleep or when someone else can watch them for a while.”
She has learned from experience the frustrations that develop when trying to juggle motherhood and work simultaneously.
“Believe me, I’ve tried to paint while they’re in the same room and it never ends well for anybody,” Jahn said. “I can’t focus on painting and keeping the peace at the same time.
“Most days it seems like less of a balancing act and more of a desperate struggle to keep the candle blazing at both ends.”
For now, there is no such thing as a typical workday for the Champaign resident.
“I don’t have work days,” Jahn said. “I have work moments, as often as I can fit them in.
“I’ll sketch out ideas when the kids are playing in the yard, leaf through an art book at the library, or take an hour to block in a painting while they’re watching TV.”
Given the choice between working late-night hours or early-morning hours, Jahn has a strong preference.
“Late nights are definitely my preferred,” she said. “Even before I had children, I was a complete night owl.
“I feel more energized at night and still often stay up past midnight working on projects.”
Her habits will likely need to shift in the years to come.
“I think I’ll have to change that when the kids are in school so I can get them there on time, but for now that’s what works best for me,” Jahn added.
The amount of time it takes to finish a painting is relative.
“There are days when I don’t paint at all because I’m too exhausted or somebody is sick, but that’s life,” Jahn said. “As the kids get older, I plan to rent a studio space where I can actually have a ‘work day’ and focus more on painting as a day job.”
She takes satisfaction in the successes as they come.
In 2020, Jahn had a painting accepted into a national juried gallery show, at the Buckham Gallery, in Flint, Mich. Another painting of hers is the cover of a Grave Babies pop rock album.
She has also been featured at the Boneyard Arts Festival multiple times since 2013, the year after she earned her bachelor’s degree in painting from the University of Illinois.
During her years at Mahomet-Seymour, there was one constant for Jahn.
“I’ve always had to be doing something creative,” she said. “Growing up, you could find me drawing, playing music, writing stories, putting on impromptu plays with my friends, making costumes, or making home movies with my sister.
“I always knew I would go into the arts in some capacity, and even though I briefly entertained ideas of other careers, I always came back to visual art.”
Her interests changed as she got older, she said, noting, “it shifted toward fine art, and finally realist painting during college.
“After my kids were born, I laser-focused on refining my technique, and I’m constantly trying to push myself to the next level.”
Jahn doesn’t feel that her learning days are behind her.
“Luckily for me, there are so many resources available for artists online that finding teachers and lessons is extremely easy,” she said.
“I recently had an online teacher from New York, Dan Bunn, who helped me immensely,” Jahn said.
Though she did well at M-S, her fondest memories aren’t from traditional classrooms.
“Most of my high school days were spent in the band room (with her bassoon) or on stage with the Drama Club,” Jahn said. “I earned high marks academically but that wasn’t what truly interested me.
“Looking back, I definitely gravitated toward the creative things that were available to me at the time.”
She immersed herself into every student production possible while at M-S, partially because she sees a parallel to other art forms.
“I was involved both onstage or behind the scenes in every play in high school,” Jahn said. “I loved drama and hope that I can be involved in it again someday.
“I think my perspective on painting – my love of baroque and the staging of still lifes – was influenced by how plays are produced: a lot of discipline and structure underneath a flair for the dramatic.”
As she finished high school, Jahn didn’t have a clear path for her future.
“All I knew is that I wanted to go to art school,” she said. “I had no idea what kind of career that could set me up for, what being a working artist meant, or what I even wanted.”
At times, her college days added to the confusion.
“While I was in college, the options presented to me seemed endless,” Jahn said. “All of my teachers had different interests and gave me different advice as to what an art career should look like.
“For a while, I really wanted to be a graphic novelist. And who knows, I enjoy writing as well, so a graphic novel might still happen in the future.”
One UI instructor, in particular, made an impact on Jahn.
“Laurie Hogin was one of my college professors who really influenced how I think about painting,” Jahn said.
When she earned her diploma from the UI, Jahn didn’t feel motivated to immediately enter her chosen profession.
“I didn’t realize it then, but it wasn’t a great fit for me (at the UI) and I only stuck it out for the degree,” she said. “I ended up working seven years as a barista (three at Espresso Royale on campus and four at Café Kopi in downtown Champaign) and doing minimal art on the side because I was burned out from college and felt like I wasn’t prepared for the art world after school.
“I really struggled to find meaning in the act of making paintings for years after I graduated.”
Eventually, her desire returned.
“I’ve gotten past that, thankfully, but there was a period of about a year and a half where I didn’t draw or paint anything at all,” Jahn said.
“After I transitioned to being a stay-at-home parent and my first-born’s infant stage was over, I decided to take my art career more seriously.”
Her subjects range the gamut from a self-portrait to grapes on a cake to a smiling skull to a burning car illuminated by the flames to a gas mask.
“I’m primarily a still-life painter,” Jahn said. “I like having the ability to craft a narrative using everyday objects, and I draw a lot of influence from the Dutch Golden Age and Baroque period when most paintings had some kind of overarching theme.
“As for the skulls, I love the inherent symbolism – the fragility of life, the arresting mortality of a nameless, faceless narrator in a composition.
“There are two very old genres of painting called ‘vanitas’ and ‘momento mori’ that I love, both of which heavily feature skulls. They depict the vanity of earthly pursuits and serve as a reminder of our own mortality. There’s a certain timelessness about it that resonates with me.”
Jahn doesn’t limit her options when it comes to putting oil on canvas, a board or a panel.
“I also like to explore themes about war, consumption and environmentalism,” she said. “I’m trying to branch out to figurative and portrait painting, because the human body has become much more interesting to me after having children, both as a narrative tool and as an appreciation of form and beauty.
“I’m hoping to do more religious work as well, harkening back to the Italian Baroque, which is my true art history love.”
Jahn has been selling her artwork occasionally for most of the past decade, but added, “I’ve really focused on art as business only in the last couple years and consequently have been selling much more.”
She accepts commissioned work, but tries not to get overloaded with it.
“Commissions honestly aren’t super enjoyable for me,” Jahn said. “I would rather paint what I love and sell that, but I’m not quite there yet.
“I do take commissions on a limited basis, as my time is also limited.”
She recently started on a large religious commission. Those who view her Instagram page (@sarajahnart) can follow the progress.
Jahn is seeking to keep her options flexible as she looks ahead.
“I’m hoping for more commissions, more shows, locally and nationally, and maybe take some drawing and painting students of my own once the kids are in school,” she said. “These goals might change depending on what kinds of things present themselves to me.
“Having this kind of career means that you need to roll with the punches – rigidity generally won’t serve you well in a creative field.
“New opportunities are always popping up, and it’s up to me to chase after them. It’s been slow going, but that’s where I need to be right now.”
Samples of Jahn’s work can also be found at her website: www.sarajahnart.com.
