Howdy and welcome to
IGNITE YOUR LIFE!,
a photographic and video art project by Houston artist Sarah Gish.

IGNITE YOUR LIFE! was kicked off at the Children’s Museum of Houston on July 4, 2013 – a day full of ignitions – fireworks, creativity, fun! The inaugural IGNITE YOUR LIFE! road trip was taken with Houston-based artist and real estate agent Amanda Smith. Sarah and Amanda started their engine on July 23, 2013 in San Antonio at The Alamo, an iconic monument symbolizing a site where Texan pride was ignited. The 2013 road trip journeyed from Houston to California with many stops in between, all to discover how people ignite their lives and what their beliefs were. Sarah worked on her IGNITE YOUR LIFE! art project and Amanda worked on a documentary. Sarah raised funds for the road trip with the help of an Indiegogo fundraising campaign.

And what an ignition it was! The road trip took place in Sarah’s Hubba Hubba art car — her third one (previous ones were the Artmobile and a mini art car, Space City).  As the women sped to Marfa, Texas for their first stop, they passed an 18-wheeler truck completely on fire. They then knew this ignited trip would be important! They had many adventures in between but, most amazing of all, the return trip ended with Hubba Hubba catching on fire outside of Phoenix, Arizona of all places. Sarah bought a gently used car in Phoenix, a white Toyota Corolla, which became her fourth art car, Phoenix Rising. The story of the Phoenix bird’s rising again and again enriched Sarah’s focus and became a guiding theme in her art and her life.

Sarah’s art cars have always been created and celebrated in community. Shortly after Sarah created Phoenix Rising, she asked her friend Sarah Crawford to turn the bumper grill into a piece of art honoring 4 people who had passed: Sarah’s brother Geoffrey Gish, her friend and artist Cleveland “Flower Man” Turner, her friend and labyrinth guru Madeleine Manning, and her friend and creative soul Madelon McDanel.

The historic pandemic of 2020 was a time of transformations and Sarah’s car was a symbol of that! She had to replace the bumper of Phoenix Rising because it had been hit, which resulted in her needing to release the grill lovingly created by Sarah Crawford. Sarah painted the new bumper with new designs and embellished the body of the car in unique ways. Crawford had passed away due to cancer and the women’s mutual friend MaryScott Hagle created 12 hearts for the car in Crawford’s honor. Sarah’s fifth creation was born — the Love Ignites! mobile. The new car honored Sarah’s brother Geoffrey with 43 hearts (he died at 43 years old). And…it won first place in the painted category at the Houston Art Car Parade.

Sadly, Sarah totaled Love Ignites! on August 4, 2022 — the exact 9-year anniversary of Hubba Hubba catching on fire in 2013. She rescued much of the glued-on art, which now adorns her latest art car, Iggy the Igniter. Iggy has suns and flames and circles as symbols of ignition and transformation, as well as the “12 Ways to Ignite Your Life Daily” which are written on the doors.

The colors for all the cars for IGNITE YOUR LIFE! are yellow, orange, red, and teal blue; they were chosen specifically because of their relationship to chakras and flames. Chakras are energy centers in our bodies — the first root chakra is red, the second sacral chakra is orange, the third solar plexus chakra is yellow, and the fifth throat chakra is teal. The gradation of flame colors as they get hotter is red, orange, yellow, and blue.

Sarah’s art, mental health journey, and her spiritual life are the inspirations for this project.