Sarah Krisher of Warren creates jewelry that she sells at vendor events around the Valley, including the Youngstown State University Summer Festival of the Arts.

WARREN — Sarah Krisher discovered at an early age she loved creating and working with her hands, especially in the areas of texture and color.

This creative passion was the seed that made her blossom into the jewelry artist she is today. The creative gene is quite dominant in Krisher’s family. Krisher said she first tried flower arranging, despite her mother’s annoyance about her picking flowers from the well-manicured beds around her home.

“My dad would let me use his tools and scrap wood in his shop to create whatever I could dream up. A number of people in my family have had some interest and talent for the visual arts, including my paternal grandmother,” Krisher said.

“I recall her teaching me to use charcoal to practice drawing dogs when I was in elementary school. I remember her praising me more than ever, and I even began to notice that I may have a bit of natural ability. I continued to experiment with many mediums and was fortunate to have many people encourage me while I honed my skills. What seemed to be a blossoming skill eventually led to making my livelihood.”

Krisher, 43, a 1997 graduate of Lordstown High School, is the daughter of Robert Krisher Jr. and Michele Krisher.

She said each year she attends approximately 20 to 30 juried art shows and markets across Ohio and the surrounding states. For Krisher, it’s also essential to do a few local shows each year. She also likes to support the Mahoning Valley with its many shows and artisans’ markets that take place each year. Krisher has been a vendor at numerous local events, such as the Youngstown State Summer Festival of the Arts.

“Since I started my business, I have done the Butler Institute of American Art’s annual holiday show,” Krisher said.

“I think the Youngstown Flea is a great addition to the small businesses and culture of the area, so I include a couple of their events each year too. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cincinnati and other cities are some of the drivable places I’ll do shows at each year.”

Krisher’s art education began in the fall of 1997, when she began a five-year Bachelor of Arts degree at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA). She said the first two years of the curriculum focused on the fundamentals of art and design. Krisher said at the start of the third year, students declare a major and at the time, her interests were in fashion, painting and graphic design.

“My interests in other areas expanded when I was exposed to more mediums and potential career ideas. CIA had an enameling department. I was unaware of the medium (glass fused to metal), but as a freshman I had seen really beautiful work in the glass cases in the school hallways. The department offered an elective for sophomores. I signed up for the class and truly fell in love with the process. In order to take additional enameling classes, I had to enroll into the jewelry and metals classes to broaden the scope of the materials I was using,” Krisher said.

Krisher’s mother and father were born and raised in Trumbull County, and she grew up within walking distance from nearly all of her dad’s family.

“My parents and other family encouraged hard work, education, creativity and entrepreneurship. All things that cultivated my path into the arts and now my jewelry business,” Krisher said.

Krisher feels fortunate to be an artist who is somewhat equally left and right brained. She achieves a balance of great artistic sense as well as a good business ethic. For Krisher, there are times when the materials she works with require more scientific applications , such as soldering or electroplating. Krisher said she also leaves room to be creative and inventive with materials by experimenting and pushing their limits.

“A very enjoyable aspect of making jewelry for me is that there is a bit of engineering and process involved along with the artistic applications. There isn’t just one material I prefer over another, but I’ve never lost the excitement that comes from melting glass enamel, flowing solder or changing the surface of metal using various tools,” Krisher said.

The holiday season is always busy for Krisher. She said like most years, the beginning of 2023 left her with many post-holiday orders to finalize. Krisher said that as soon as these orders were wrapped up, she was able to begin the application process for upcoming 2023 shows. Krisher has great plans for 2023.

“It’s also the time when I start new designs and inventory for the year. My first market will be at the Youngstown Flea on April 8. Then I head to Shadyside in Pittsburgh on the 22nd and 23rd for a juried art show,” Krisher said.

“For the first time, I will be headed to Ann Arbor, Mich., with my work for the country’s largest outdoor artisan show. I am working hard to have enough inventory for this show, along with all other shows.”

When it comes to being inspired, Krisher is always looking at all mediums for inspiration. Krisher likes art that embodies an organic nature, but she also likes clean and purposeful lines as well.

“On occasion, when I see alternative or new innovative uses of material, I will get inspired. My days and weeks are spent making more production, high selling repeatable pieces,” Krisher said.