Visual Artist/Body Painter Sarah Renee Sanders To Present Lansing’s First “R Rated” Art Experience

Horrors of Love Body Paint-Photo Credit: Mark Chamberlin

(Lansing, MI) – Award Winning Artistic Entrepreneur & Body Painter Sarah Sanders will be presenting Lansing’s first ever “R Rated” Art Experience, “The Horrors of Love” on Friday October 22nd & Saturday, October 23rd at the Opportunity Arts Artitorium (1705 S. Cedar Street, Lansing, MI 48912) in Lansing. There are two types of tickets available, a $35.00 VIP Ticket that will get you into both Friday & Saturday, and a $20.00 General Admission Ticket that will be good for Saturday only. Saturday’s experience will also feature a costume contest where contestants will “Embody Their Fear”. Students, and Opportunity Arts Affiliates will receive $5.00 off either ticket. You can purchase tickets at www.eventbrite.com/e/horrors-of-love-tickets-188795621787

“The Horrors of Love” Artistic Experience is not intended for all audiences and contains some material that could be traumatizing to some viewers. Topics of Mental Abuse, Mental Illness, Sexual Assault and violence are discussed and presented in this experience. “You’re basically going to walk through my psychosis from manipulative & abusive relationships,” said Sanders. There is going to be some subject matter that is very uncomfortable & images that may not be suitable for all audiences. Please proceed with caution to ensure you get the best experience possible. For a while in her life, Sarah had dealt with remnants of mental trauma through certain relationship experiences. She felt she had lived with anxieties and mental problems stemming from these experiences in her daily life, and it still affects her every single day.

Horrors of Love Body Paint-Photo Credit: Mark Chamberlin

When we endure trauma, a common response for the brain is to block things out and subconsciously filter this turmoil to ultimately protect ourselves. Between Sarah’s brain’s natural mental blocks, and her personal coping mechanism of working herself to the bone, Sarah pushed down these issues until one day they were forcefully brought to the surface. “We can only run away from our problems for so long until they make themselves fully known, and we are forced to deal with them head on,” said Sanders. For Sarah, art has always been the healthiest way that she has been able to calm her brain, for even just a moment, while also having more time to focus on the passions she loves most, and making time for herself and her own thoughts; something that she had not known for a long time.

“I had to find a way to heal through the trauma; a way I could not only heal myself, but bring awareness, understanding, and healing to those around me, and illustrate the detriment of harmful relationships, actions, and the rejection of self-reflection,” said Sanders. Trauma, repression, and deflection are important topics that can be difficult to discuss, and Sarah wanted to take on the challenge for herself and for others. While this experience can be triggering, there is a deeper meaning behind these nightmares. Forgiveness is possible, self-healing is able to occur, and we are able to push past the obstacles that life throws at us. Sometimes we just have to force ourselves to face things we don’t want too in order to break through.

About The Artist:

Sarah Sanders is a mixed media artist & body painter with extensive experience in installation art, music, mural work, body casting, video art, makeup, photography, & frame design. She was selected as the Cover Artists for the 2020 Social Gap Experiment Creative Anthology, and was a featured artists in the television special “The Power of Mid-Michigan Arts” which aired on ABC. She is the owner of Contrasted Content LLC, a for profit art business located in Lansing at the Cedar Street Art Collective. Sarah earned an Associate’s Degree in Arts Foundation, and an Associate’s Degree in Art History from Lansing Community College, where you can also see her work displayed publicly & permanently as the winner of The 2017 Zimmerman Arts Fund Competition. Additionally, Sarah has won The Award of Excellence for outstanding performance and contribution to the 2014-2015 Art Gallery Exhibit & Celebration from Ingham Intermediate School District and Lansing Art Gallery, The Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Arts at Mason High School, and The Outstanding Performance of Excellence in Visual Arts from Mason Public Schools and the Mason City Council. Sarah’s work has also been seen at the Ingham County Fair Art Contest, MSUFCU Art Exhibit, Ingham Intermediate School District, From Soup to Art: A Fundraising Auction for Arts Initiative of Mason, and the Mason Emerging Artist Event & Exhibition. Sarah was born & raised in Mason, MI, Her art studio is located in Lansing. To purchase Sarah’s work visit, www.contrastedcontent.com

A message from the Artist about the Experience:

“I am very open within myself during this experience, and the things I have experienced with other people. PLEASE, DO NOT associate any experiences or things I express in the experience with anyone you could possibly know that I may have had any romantic relationships with. I have been with several people who were very good people internally at heart and they do not correlate to any experiences and trauma featured in this artistic experience. This experience is meant to focus on myself internally, and how I mentally process things, not the other people involved. To those who I have been with, who have positively AND negatively impacted me, I can never thank you enough, for you have helped me get to where I am today. I have been allowed to grow into the person I always wanted to become, the person I always knew I was inside, but that I had to find and unlock for myself. This project was done to help me not only heal, but forgive those who had done me wrong, while letting go of the toxicity that had held me captive for so long. “Horrors of Love” was created to show that we can move on and let go from the nightmares we live with. Please, if you are struggling with any form of mental struggles that seem to consume you to a point of becoming unbearable, please talk to someone. There are people who understand, and you are never alone.”

For more information on “The Horrors of Love” visit:

www.contrastedcontent.com

Facebook Event Link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/589058622143840

To Purchase Tickets visit:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horrors-of-love-tickets-188795621787