Savanah
Savanah is a Fine Art graduate from Leeds Arts University who’s always loved to draw, but the lack of money and the urge to go travelling landed her in a call centre. This was meant to be short term but 2 years later she was still there. Savanah had people constantly telling her she was wasting her talent, yet the thought of leaving a reliable steady income held her back.
Savanah said “In March 2020, the pandemic hit the UK and I found myself on furlough. Like the rest of the country, I had lots of time and not much to do. I began to do a few portraits for friends using biro and pencil, which then lead to commission work. Every week that went by the orders multiplied, fantastic! This escalated over the following months. In June I was hit with the news that the furlough was coming to an end for me and the office was re-opening. I had a decision to make, do I go back to the mundane repetitive life of the call centre, or do I grab this opportunity and start my own Art Business?”
“It’s now 7 months down the line and I’ve never been happier. My confidence grew and I had the courage to quit my job to pursue my passion. I have completed a ‘setting up your own business’ course with the Princes Trust who are supporting me with the final piece of the jigsaw, a studio of my very own in Sheffield City Centre. I’m so grateful that at a time where life was so dark, I managed to turn it into something positive and life changing. Once you spot a window of opportunity, don’t settle… go for it!!”
After the collaboration…
“I absolutely loved sharing my day-to-day activities of being a commission portrait artist during the Shake Baby Shake takeover. Since the takeover my followers increased by a few hundred on my art business Instagram which was great. I had quite a lot of enquires for new commission requests, I’ve sent lots of drawings all over the UK which could have been from the new followers.”
“Since the takeover I have moved into my Studio with the Yorkshire Art space at Exchange place studios. I loved decorating the space and making my ideas a reality. It’s amazing to have all my equipment in one place and to be in environment that inspires my creative process.”
