Meet Savanna Sinden | Freelance Illustrator and Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Savanna Sinden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Savanna, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
We all know the rules that society built for us- get an education, go to university then settle into your 9-5 job (and hopefully retire at age 50). But when the pandemic hit, we were all forced to live more and work less which gave me time to think about what a work-life balance looks like now?

I took advantage of this new emerging culture by getting an online job which gave me the freedom to work less and focus on my passion, spirituality, and social life. Statistically working online can lead to flexible hours and less burnout, but even that can be overwhelming and soon unbalanced, so how did I do it?

1) Limit your goals and stick to them
2) Learn that failure is doing you a favor
3) 40% work, 50% what makes you more human

The key takeaway is to create your own life and not let society create it for you. After all, you are human and not a machine.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My Christian upbringing sparked my interest in symbolism and I wanted to further expand my biblical knowledge by illustrating sun characters that could represent faeries or invisible life forces referenced in many folklore stories, cave paintings, and biblical manuscripts.

My curiosity about portraying something we can not see or touch is what sets me apart from everyone else. I get to bring invisible spirits to life in a modern-day world that no longer believes in telling mythological stories. That gets me excited to be able to let my inner child out whenever I draw.

But this didn’t come so easy. After finishing university I became obsessed with the idea of what makes great art…great? This obsession sadly sabotaged my artistic identity, so without any hesitation, I completely stopped freelancing. During this time my inner child came loose and I was allowed to play for the first time in years.

Over time I came to terms that over-planning kills the magic, so my advice to anyone who feels stuck is don’t look down, look up! It’s so easy to be distracted by flashy trends these days, so why not go someplace quiet and listen, maybe dance and be silly…why not?

My art is my life and my life is my art. What I want people to know about my work is that it’s a reference to the world I created for myself and I encourage you to be part of the journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
That’s easy! I’m based in South Africa so you can imagine the amazing sightseeing adventures there are. We will make our way to Sea Point, CPT, and lounge around in the sand of Camps Bay beach, then take a quick stroll to “The Pottery Camps Bay” for a refreshing beverage and paint a mug or two.

Afterward, it’s time to get inspired by gallery hopping around Woodstock and finally heading off to a well-deserved lunch break at “Our Local Café”. By now it’s the end of the day, so we’ll make our way to Signal Hill and watch the sunset together (with more snacks of course).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m extremely grateful to all the lovely humans I’ve met so far in my creative journey. My parents were one of the first big influences in my life. My mother always had a brush in her hand and my dad always had his Nikon, so I naturally grew up creating and building things.

And to my second mother, Hanolet Uys, her passion ignited my way of thinking by showing me artists that weren’t just found in the textbooks, and even though I was in high school, she made me feel like an artist and I hold onto those memories closely.

My art career is all possible thanks to Open Window Institute, especially my lecturers Nina Torr and Daniel Robert who played a huge role in my creative development and pushed me to do better.

Lastly, every individual who I photographed, drew, and collaborated with this includes the wonderful team at Wet ink printing and lecturer, Nicole Clare Fraser at Orms CT School of Photography for giving me the tools to create freely.

Website: https://sindensj.wixsite.com/savannasinden

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atavistic.vision/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savannasinden/

Other: https://www.behance.net/savannasinden

Image Credits
Poster Mockup: https://unblast.com