Woodchuck 30th Anniversary Artist Spotlight – Sarah Leek
November 21, 2021
BIO:
Name: Sarah Leek
Age: 29
Location: Jefferson, NC
Profession: Photographer
Length: About 5 years
Welcome to our Woodchuck 30th Anniversary blog series where we will be highlighting hand-selected creatives every week through the Fall. This year marks our 30th Anniversary and we have asked 25 creatives from across the country to help celebrate 30 years of creativity and innovation by sharing with us what creativity means to them. We sat down with each creative to hear more about how they use creativity on a daily basis and what influences their work. See below for our conversation with Sarah!
W-Hey Sarah! Thanks for hanging out with us today and letting us ask you a few questions about how you use creativity day to day. How did you get your start behind the lens?
S- I’ve always been an artist. When I moved to Asheville in my early 20’s and got involved with the local hiking and photography community, I decided that landscape photography was going to become my new favorite art form. My family gifted me my first camera for Christmas in 2016 and it’s been my greatest passion ever since.
W- What tends to influence your photography. Being a landscape photographer, you are obviously influenced by your natural surroundings, but how do you differentiate yourself from everyone else shooting the same thing?
S- My inspiration is derived internally. It’s very much a reflection of whatever is going on in my inner world. Art has always been both my release during tough times and my excitement during good times. I strive to let those emotions show in my work and although it feels great when others can relate to whatever I’m expressing, that’s not the motivating factor behind my work.
W- Conveying emotion through photography is certainly a difficult task and one that takes a long time to master! It sounds like you try to use your photography as a means of reflecting what you’re feeling at any given time. With that said, what exactly does “creativity” mean to you?
S- Creativity to me is a expression of your soul. It’s an outer expression of who you are inside- your thoughts, struggles, and your strengths, what helps you through those struggles and what brings you peace and joy. It’s the embodiment of your passion.
W- That’s some deep stuff there, Sarah. You’re right though. It is how you express yourself through your passion. For us, creativity is what allows us to express ourselves through cider making.
W-Prior to joining us in our celebration, were you familiar with Woodchuck? after your involvement, was there anything that you learned about Woodchuck that you’d like to share?
S- Prior to my invitation to join the 30th Anniversary Celebration was wasn’t too familiar with Woodchuck, but cider is my go-to drink so I was excited to try something new! I love that Woodchuck is like me – All about the outdoors, and I respect the commitment they’ve made to being unique and authentic without relying on validation from others.
W- Well we’re glad to have connected with you, a fellow cider enthusiast and we hope to have made a lasting impact! We’re super excited to share your photos and we hope you continue to enjoy some of our cider!
Sarah too to the mountains to go shoot a sunset cider session. Go check her photos out on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter .
Be sure to check out our online cider store and online merch store. There, you’ll be able to stock yourself up with your favorite cider and purchase some all-new Woodchuck swag like t-shirts, Glassware, hats and more!
Cheers and Happy Cider Sippin!
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