Macon Magazine

S arah Tinsley Parker is at once familiar and foreign. e young artist has an uncanny ability to connect with people in a way that feels as though you're old friends. Simultaneously, her eyes contain depths that indicate a torrent of feeling and story untold – an enigma to discover. ough at first glance her path may have seemed to be straightforward, Sarah Tinsley has opted to forge her own way to establish herself as a part of the Macon community. A true Maconite, Sarah Tinsley's earliest memories include spending the week with her grandmother in "the Southern tradition of mamaw camp to learn manners and etiquette." But her Macon roots came with their own kind of expectations. "I come from a very Southern family," she says. "Tradition and how things were supposed to be was ingrained into my head. But I always knew that I was going to do things a little differently than how my parents may have thought my life would go." Upon completing her bachelor's degree at Georgia College and State University, she saw C H O O S I N G M A C O N Sarah Tinsley Parker A series featuring individuals from our community who, after some time away, have returned to share their skills and talents here. BY RACHELLE WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGEL ROMÁN many of her peers returning to Macon to get married, settle down and start families, a path Sarah Tinsley was not ready to take. "For me, that meant being able to leave the expectations of others behind and do what I needed to do to grow up a little bit. I moved to Atlanta, and my time there really allowed me to grow because I was away from all the things I was familiar with," she says. While there, she began working as a caregiver for children with learning disabilities. Her interest in art, which she credits to her father, soon became more than a personal passion. It became a way to communicate with the children in her care. Art enabled Sarah Tinsley to connect with others, with her new environment and with herself. Her time in Atlanta gave her clarity and inspired her to take her art to the next level. She learned firsthand how art can be its own language and saw herself using it beyond the aesthetic. When Sarah Tinsley returned to Macon in 2015, it was to pursue a Masters of Art degree in Art erapy at her alma mater. She was ready to take her education and professional development to the next level and felt that Macon was the place to do it. And this time, her life in Macon was on her own terms. "Coming back to Macon is just something that I knew would be different," she says. "And I came back at a time when things were starting to develop downtown. ings were changing. People were becoming more involved and interested and participating in organizations. It was nice to see a shift in different parts of Macon – people venturing out and trying new things." Sarah Tinsley had changed, but so had Macon. is renewed perspective revealed people and places she had never encountered earlier in life. Macon expanded beyond the trek from home to school and back again to include those with different backgrounds, stories and paths. "I found that my life growing up was very sheltered, and I didn't have a full picture of the Macon community. My grandmother grew up in a different time and era where speaking out was not acceptable, spending time with certain crowds was frowned upon and letting your guard down was a no-no," she says. "In turn, she influenced my mom 116 maconmagazine.com | JUNE/JULY 2020

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