Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Johnson.
Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Over the years I have used art to assist both with my own healing, as well as others’. I have done this through a variety of means: working with teens in a theater group, as a licensed mental health professional, in a teen center setting, and as a community-engaged artist.
In the last year, I took the leap to start my own business, The Joy Labs. My goal with The Joy Labs is to help build connected, equitable, healthy, and resilient individuals, homes, neighborhoods, organizations, and communities through intentional relationship building and creativity. We find joy through play and experimenting with what works for us. Let’s play together!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being human guarantees that there will be struggles. I have experienced my own trauma during the course of my life and know firsthand that humans are resilient and that healing is possible.
Throughout the ups and downs of life, I rely on support from others, allowing myself to be a mess sometimes, using the skills I’ve picked up along the way to make my way through difficulties (and hopefully not making them worse).
Among my favorite strategies for dealing with tough stuff are art, meditation, nature, connecting with friends, cuddling my cats, and getting moving.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a community-engaged multimedia artist. This means that a primary element of my work as an artist is to serve as a connector, weaver, and storyteller; bringing art into the community for nurturing connections and social change.
This often is through co-design and or co-creation of murals. I am most proud of the many relationships I have built over the past several years, and how amazing it is to see people creating things together.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I often say that relationships are the key to quite literally everything in life: they help us build our resilience, and they create strong communities, I couldn’t do the work I do without strong relationships and partnerships, so I would say that prioritizing and investing in these connections are most important to my success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thejoylabs.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejoylabs/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejoylabs
