“My work is about capturing an experience of a place and time and sharing it with others. It’s about the entire process from beginning to end.”
– Sarah Royer
Sarah Royer studied traditional printmaking techniques for four years under Master Printmaker, Marvin Jones. Sarah began her professional career at Expressions Graphics in Oak Park, IL where she continued to learn from artists such as Eveline Kolign who taught Sarah the chine-colle´ process. Sarah made a shift from toxic traditional printmaking processes. In 2010, she took the first of several screen-printing classes taught by Angee Lennard at Spudnik Press in Chicago, IL. Sarah began working on her on-going Black & Gold screenprint series of photographs that she has taken on her travels. A transformation in her direction accompanied her migration from the Chicago area to Utopia Beach on the shores of Lake Erie.
While living in Cleveland, OH, Royer joined Zygote Press. Waterloo Arts offered her the first local exhibition experience in DayGloSho 6 and 7. Keeping up with her contacts in Chicago, Sarah visits, works, and exhibits there. On one of her visits, she was introduced to solar plates, a non-toxic etching technique. Excited to print etchings again, Sarah took a solar plate class with Janet Schill at Expressions Graphics in Oak Park, IL. With the new skill in hand, Sarah began creating solar plates at her home studio. Sarah’s works have been exhibited in Chicago, Lake Tahoe, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.
Living in the Great Lakes region gives the unique accessibility to both the serenity and peace that the lake has to offer accompanied by the energy of a major city. Royer’s two main forms of expression are a balance of both nature and the city. She specializes in etchings and screen-prints.
Benko Art Gallery
October of 2019
Sarah Royer showcased her art at Benko Art Gallery in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Benko was the perfect place to show off her solar plate prints. While visiting Expressions Graphics in Oak Park IL, Royer was introduced to the idea of solar plate printing. Intrigued by the non-toxic process Royer took a class from Janet Schill. Benko Art Gallery displayed a combination of solar-plate prints and images of prints that were laser-cut into pieces of wood.
Metropolitan at The 9
June 2019 – November 2019
Metropolitan at The 9 showcased the creative work of Sarah Royer. Attendees experienced the high contrast screen prints of digitally altered photos that she has taken on her travels to cities throughout United States and Europe. While sipping on refreshments friends and family were able to sit back and relax in Alex Theater and view a slideshow of Sarah’s work.
Column & Stripe
2018-2024
Sarah Royer has actively engaged with Column & Stripe: The Young Friends of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This group is a community for young professionals and artists in the city of Cleveland. Their mission is to develop a lifelong relationship with art, philanthropy, and Cleveland by engaging with other like-minded individuals. Sarah Royer has been actively involved in the group and taken on leadership roles throughout her tenure:
2018-2019: Member, Chair of Parade the Circle
2019-2020: Philanthropy Co-Chair
2020-2021: Vice-President
2021-2022: President
2022-2024: Current Past President
Parade the Circle
The Cleveland Museum of Art kicks off the summer with an annual parade around Wade Oval. Local and national artists design a wide variety of floats, puppets, and costumes to celebrate.
Sarah Royer was the Column & Stripe Chair of Parade the Circle 2019. She designed the ensemble that included images taken from newly launched Open Access from The Cleveland Museum of Art. This included high-resolution images of the CMA’s art collection to the public to be used at no cost.
The ensemble designed by Sarah Royer included five brightly colored large paintings of manipulated images from Open Access, one large parachute with images of “The Thinker” reworked to have “The Thinker” looking at a cell phone, and Sarah Palagyi walking on stilts with a handmade hoop-skirt and “Thinker” T-shirt.
