Austin Downtown Arts Magazine
Record and CD Reviews
Spilling Open
by Rachel Staggs
Just stopping to use the bathroom in a local bookstore brought
this unique, beautiful book into my life. If I had to choose
one word to describe this book it would be HONEST. The author
is a young woman in search of herself, which helps us find
ourselves through reading her book. I took this book on a
trip where I spent time alone and found myself writing more
of my feelings down -- and owning them. I started painting
in my journal and spent more time exploring. The pages of
Spilling Open: The Art of Becoming Yourself (by Sabrina Ward
Harrison, New World Library) are amazing; every inch is different
than the rest. It screams originality. Pages are colored with
paint, photos, intriguing words, musical scores, momentos,
tea bags, and truthful sadness.
When I spoke with 23-year-old Sabrina Ward Harrison she was
suffering from stomach ulcers in her home in Berkley, California.
Despite her illness, Sabrina spoke with me about many of life's
journeys, her current situation, and the future.
Harrison began to create and discover art in high school.
She was encouraged to attend art school by a supportive teacher
who saw that expressive spark in Sabrina. She began journaling
in design school where she enrolled in a class called "Life
Stories." She enjoyed this class tremendously, she says,
and "journals became more interesting than the slick
graphic design" classes. Unfortunately, mononucleosis
took over her life and she was forced to leave school.
Back to Top
During her illness she called upon the author SARK for inspiration,
leaving a message on SARK's "inspiration line."
SARK called her back to thank her for openly sharing how "disheveled"
she felt. The two began a friendship and Harrison started
sharing her journals with SARK. After a while, SARK encouraged
her to write a book. Harrison protested, thinking she was
too young. In SARK's foreword to this book she writes, "Sabrina
is a luminous mystery, a carousel of feelings, lumps and discoveries.
If you could lie down with her journals, you would see genius.
That genius is in this book. Yes, she is young. Thank god,
we might get that much more from/of her." Sabrina Ward
Harrison is younger than I am, and I feel completely connected
to this book. It has nothing to do with age. On the back of
her book, Harrison writes, "I often feel an overwhelming
pressure to 'have it all together.' What is it? I feel young.
I am young. I never passed algebra. I am a work in progress.
This book is my life in progress. A growing expedition through
the tangled and unfilled-in parts of understanding. My life,
my truth, and myself. I want to share it. Welcome inside."
It's a brave step to open up to the masses about your fears
and insecurities. Thank you, Sabrina Ward Harrison.
Harrison's inspirations include Anais Nin's journals and
May Sarton's Journal of A Solitude. She is currently reading
What We Know So Far, a compilation of women writing about
what they have learned through their lives, as well as Promiscuities
by Naomi Wolfe. She is deeply affected by artists Robert Rauschenberg
and Brian Andreas who "used words and images together,
broke rules with color, used old bits of fabric." Music
is prevalent in Harrison's life. She mentions musicians like
Lenord Cohen, Bob Dylan, Ani Difranco and the Indigo Girls
on a page in her book. Underneath these musicians names, she
has drawn a star with the phrase "all you need."
Below this she writes music.
Currently, Sabrina Ward Harrison is teaching a class called
"The Art of Becoming Yourself." She shares the art
of journal-making with children. If only I had taken such
a class during those junior high years, maybe I wouldn't have
grown up so unsure of my identity. Harrison is teaching in
California now, with thoughts of creating workshops around
the country for young women. She also told me about her most
recent odd job. The band Sixpence None The Richer asked Harrison
to create a complete set for their new video. They read Spilling
Open and wanted the book to come to life. They will be walking
around as if they are in the book. Harrison created 24 paintings
sized four feet by four feet along with the entire three-dimensional
set. The video for "There She Goes" should be airing
soon. In the future look for Harrison to bring another book
of art to the world. She has plans for her second book full
of experiences, possibly written on a drive across the country.
I recommend Spilling Open: The Art of Becoming Yourself to
everyone, especially young women. Not only is it visually
pleasing, creative in design and full of feelings that all
people can identify with, it also inspires readers to search
inside themselves, to communicate, and to love themselves.
Back to Top
|