Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Haydn Wilkinson.
Hi Sasha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As cliche as it may sound– I was singing before I could speak. I’ve been writing poetry since the first grade. I grew up enveloped in all of the arts. My mother was a dancer; my parents met in the theatre; my dad taught me to paint; my grandma is a designer, my grandpa is a writer, and it doesn’t end there. As a kid, my parents took me to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City instead of church. I don’t love art, I worship it.
When I was three, we went to the museum and I’m told I walked into a room and shouted out with glee “it’s a Monet!” Over the last few years, I have had to make some difficult decisions concerning the art in my life: giving up my admission to my dream college, choosing what art to major in, putting my health over my passions, etc.
So, when it came to starting an impulsive passion project– something totally against the grain for me– it was bound to have something to do with the art around me. I found I was surrounded by talented artists and craftspeople and students who wanted to share their work but didn’t know where to start.
What a great opportunity– because I also have an affinity for connection. I wanted to do something that was going to get me both art and connection and help the people around me. I am currently a student trying to balance adult life with my fantasy life. I will be studying theatre in the UK in May. I couldn’t be more excited.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I am a strong believer that everything of value is burdened with struggles. I am coming off a world of complex, self-examination questions like how do I navigate any of this? What makes me think I can do any of this? Don’t I need to know more about—well–everything? I am aware that I have never run a business before. And, I actually strongly consider myself an introvert. I don’t know how to connect with people. I don’t know how to market an event.
I don’t even know how to perform in a market. Perhaps, in some ways, this is one of those blessing-curse things. The entire idea of the market came out of necessity for distraction– something that required so much self-education and focus that I couldn’t let the feelings in my life that are constantly pulling me down overtake me. I am coming off of a six-month nightmare– filled with struggles.
In August, my partner was in an accident that resulted in four types of severe TBI (traumatic brain injury) and lung failure. He was in a coma for just shy of three months. He wasn’t supposed to live past the first night. We were told many times that he was not going to make it another day. My life was completely turned on its head. I was at the hospital almost every day at that time. I am still facing grief in every capacity. It makes it hard to do anything or try anything or feel anything in the same way. I also wish that he could be a part of it all.
It’s hard to do it all, but I have become the person to say– why not? Why not go to trauma therapy and create an entrepreneurial position for myself in something I’ve never done? Why not go to school for musical theatre and be a commercial musician? Why not write and create and connect and collaborate? Why not?
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?
I really appreciate this question. However, if I can deflect a bit from myself, I think the success of the market can be attributed entirely to the community of people who have helped to create it. Every single one of the people involved is an artist in some manner– they all have a passion, they all have interesting stories, and they all deserve to be highlighted and talked about. Most of them I am very close with, and some of them I have never met before.
Somehow, they were all willing to reach across a gap of the unknown into an area of support for the sake of art and keeping it alive. The name of the market “Mountmarte” is a play on “Montmartre”. I think both places have similar traits– a group of people who have an incredible desire to express themselves—coming together to create a beautiful cause. Our Instagram highlights each one of the people involved. Our handle is @mountmartemarket.
Our purpose as an organization is to help artists– at any level– get exposure and build a community of people who are learning along with them. We nurture positivity, respect, and ease. We highlight every form of forgotten art in our events– poetry, cooking, improvisation, dance, photography, and design. And, we try our best to always use sustainable practices.
So, in that wonderful little world we’ve created, I feel perfectly at home. Several singers will be performing their original music– I am shy to give a self-promotion here, but writing is my true passion, and I will be performing there as well. I’m glad the market has made a space for sharing that– the true thing I live for. I know there are so many others like me who struggle to find an outlet for their art, and I want to provide that space for them to exist.
But I also am a craft nut, so I’ll have a few things to showcase/sell, and the whole “Mountmarte” has proved to be a bit of a craft project along with a passion project. I’m glad we have planned for four dates because it feels more like workshopping the production to get better at it. We hope we see a lot of people who want to come and share it with us.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I care a lot– often too much– about people and what they bring to this world. I care about how they feel and how they are encouraged. I really like my friends, I really like artists—people who deserve to be in the spotlight.
I care about my crafts– singing, writing, acting, and performing. And, I’m a perfectionist—to an obsessive degree. I spend every free moment I have working on getting better– I will forever be a student of the craft. I should add- that I thrive on quirkiness. And I think it’s a distinguishing trait that has served me well– though I know it’s often misunderstood.
With all of this comes the fact that I am not easily deterred from the things I am passionate about doing. I am disciplined in my values. It took me a while to figure out exactly what they are. But I will not be swayed by what I believe in love, acceptance, sincerity, service, work ethic, forgiveness, ambition, etc.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountmartemarket/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/sashahaydntaylor/
Image Credits
Kiki Wilkinson
