Sara Forsythe: Hot Springs MT with Montana Arts Council Summer 2012

This week I spent some time in Hot Springs MT on the reservation working with 25 students in designing a set for a puppet play, working on mobile visual elements for the stage and working on individual projects.

Profile

Sara is a Northern Idaho artist and certified fine art and history instructor.

She lived in Montana for ten years and worked as both an artist and educator for students in the valley. She is the Founder of the Zootown Arts Community Center in Missoula, MT; a non profit on the Northside of Missoula. Sara conducts professional development for teachers, and works alongside various organizations in the Western Montana and Northern Idaho area. She is an Idaho Commission on the Arts Arts Educator. Sara served three years as a board member for VSA Arts of Montana. She teaches art to people with disabilities and works with youth in alternative settings. Sara commissions master study replications, and creates ink drawings as well as mixed media large work acrylic paintings.

She is the proud owner of Hobbes the Wonder Dog and likes taking long walks with him through her neighborhood.

In 2007, Sara created an art-on-a-cart business called Zootown Arts which delivered arts experiences to nursing homes, schools, rural areas, events, and organizations. In 2009, after the founding of the Independent Artist Collaborative, the ZACC emerged as a non-profit arts center delivering all ages arts education, fostering sustainable community development, and promoting accessible, life-enriching art experiences for Missoula residents and visitors.

In 2010, for the MEA-MFT Conference in Missoula, Sara presented a lecture on Arts and Communities in Montana for the MT Alliance for the Arts. She is working on a large scale project aimed at aligning artists in schools for special projects and fine arts development for regular classroom instructors.

In 2009, Sara was recognized by Montana Community Development Corporation as a community business success story and presented at the Business and Entrepreneurship Seminar for Young Adults.

In 2010, She received the YWCA Salute to Women Award (Rising Star) for her work in the Missoula Community and was listed in the news as one of the top ten notable people to know in Missoula.

Sara is inspired by her golden retriever Hobbes. She marvels at his ability to scoff at the alarm in the morning, know when to take a break, his ability to not sweat the small stuff, run in the rain, find every mud puddle to roll in, slobber on her favorite dresses, forgive others quickly, and get his beauty sleep every afternoon.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Hot Springs MT with Montana Arts Council Summer 2012