Today we’d like to introduce you to Sage Serrano.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom struggling to put me to bed because I wanted to stay up late, perched at my dad’s drafting table, drawing. I am deeply grateful to have been raised by parents who were both artistic and endlessly supportive. My dad is a creative director, and my mom is an elementary school teacher, I see myself as a true hybrid of the two.
I never imagined myself becoming a teacher, but I always knew I wanted to be an artist. From a young age, my dream was to attend art school and earn my Master of Fine Arts. I eventually fulfilled that goal, earning my MFA in Art from San Diego State University, with an emphasis in drawing and book arts. Pursuing my MFA ultimately led me to teaching as a lecturer—a path I embraced as a way to sustain and deepen my art practice.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Pursuing graduate school had been on my mind for quite some time. During my senior year of undergrad, I applied and was accepted into an MFA program in the Bay Area, but ultimately decided it wasn’t the right fit and chose not to attend. Instead, I spent the next few years working full time as a graphic artist and signmaker for a large grocery market. After long days at work, I would come home and continue drawing in the studio.
During this period, I developed an entirely new body of work—a series titled Half Faces—which later became the foundation of my graduate school applications. It took several years of applying, along with receiving multiple rejection letters, before I found a program that truly resonated with me.
While participating in a group exhibition in Los Angeles, I met an artist through a mutual friend who needed a ride back to San Diego. During the drive, they spoke enthusiastically about the MFA program at San Diego State University’s School of Art + Design, where they were currently enrolled. I hadn’t considered applying there, having been rejected by the school out of high school, but with their encouragement, I decided to apply. Later that year, I was accepted into the program.
Although the years of rejection were difficult, I now see how valuable that time was. The space allowed me to gain real-world work experience, and my research and artistic interests evolved significantly. I was proud that the drawings I created alongside and after my full-time job were what ultimately led to my acceptance. Ironically, the very week I learned I had been admitted to the state MFA program, the market I worked for was bought out and I was laid off—it couldn’t have worked out better.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My practice is grounded in research around intergenerational relationships, embodied knowledge, and the transmission of memory through bodies, gestures, routines, and materials. I’m interested in how memory is held both emotionally and physically—how it resides within everyday actions, care practices, and objects passed down over time. Drawing is central to my practice and functions as both a meditative and investigative act: a means of observing, collecting, and communicating, creating an ongoing dialogue between material, memory, and environment. I’m drawn to connections—whether forced, found, or failed—and respond intuitively to materials as a way of tracing memory and relationships.
I work with handmade paper, discarded and found papers, and remnant materials to draw on, manipulate, and fold. Paper holds particular significance in my work, as it absorbs pressure, marks, and time, retaining traces of every interaction—much like the body carries its own imprints and scars. Informed by material culture studies, I engage materials through hands-on play, experimentation, and drawing as tools for thinking and making. By working with non-archival and biodegradable materials, I resist permanence, allowing deterioration and transformation to remain visible. My work has been exhibited in the United States and the Netherlands.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I love to bake, especially biscuits and blueberry scones. One of my favorite things to do is bake cakes for loved ones on their birthdays, and it’s something I’ve become known for in my family. I was even given the honor of baking my best friend’s wedding cake—a tall, three-layer vanilla cake with Swiss buttercream and strawberries.
What I enjoy most about baking is how closely it mirrors my drawing practice. In both, I begin with an idea, but the outcome is never fully predetermined. When I go into the studio, I pull from different materials and start playing—experimenting, adjusting, and responding to what’s happening in front of me until something begins to come into fruition. Baking works the same way. Even with a recipe as a guide, the process requires intuition, attention, and trust in the moment.
Both baking and drawing also rely on knowing when to pause. After a drawing reaches a certain point, it’s important for me to step back, let the work rest, and return to it with fresh eyes in order to evaluate what’s been made. This feels similar to letting baked goods cool after they come out of the oven—resisting the urge to rush, understanding that time is an essential part of the process. In both practices, the resting period is just as important as the making, allowing the work to fully settle and reveal itself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sageserrano.com
- Instagram: @sage.serrano
Image Credits
Sage Serrano
