artist and musician Sasha Spielberg caught our attention with her sublime music and superb pet portraits. her third album Shoulder to Shoulder is out now. Sasha is, like most great artists, very curious and has an eye for detail. her style, grace and realness are just a few of the qualities that make you want to know her better. so scroll on down and do just that. check our photo diary of Sasha wearing Batsheva (we shot at her store) and Zoë Bleu Arquette. she chats about feeling closest to God when making music, finding inspiration in her painter mom Kate Capshaw and artist husband Harry McNally, love of vintage…along with other hyper fixations and bare essentials.

the bare magazine: in what way do you and your husband harry balance each other and inspire each others creative endeavors?

Sasha Spielberg: Harry is deeply focused, and takes his time down to the smallest task like... lint rolling. I tend to rush through things and make a mess. I feel often that I’m the thing he’s lint rolling. He helps me slow down and enjoy the process. I help him focus his energy on tasks that would be good for his attention so he doesn't burn out on said lint roller, or seam ripper, or button organizer. I’m inspired by his perseverance and the way he notices the smallest moments in a room of full of people. I’m inspired by the way he puts together outfits. I’m inspired by his curiosity. I’m inspired by his ability to not to just rush to get something over with. He’s completely present at all times.

bare: do you have a few favorite tracks from your recent album Shoulder to Shoulder?

SS: Bad Company, I’ll Wait, and Hot Nights. Actually Blame It too. Oh wait, You Should Be Alone. Okay fine all of them. And I feel okay saying that because I’ve had records that I’ve put out where I have not LOVED every song and I really believe one can feel that in a listen. But I really am proud of this record and love every song!

bare: what does singing and creating music do for your soul and tie you to it so closely?

SS: Last month I was writing music and I said to my best friend Greta Morgan, “ Last night I sat down at the piano and played for two hours and thought, this is the closest I’ll ever feel to God. But sometimes I don’t know what the point is of sitting down and writing music in this climate and what it means for me as an artist. And Greta just goes, “Wow, being the closest you’ve ever felt to God feels like a pretty good reason to sit down and write music.” Then we burst out laughing.

bare: you are an amazing artist like your mom! do you two go to each other when creating pieces for support and feedback?

SS: Thank you! So, backstory on my mom’s discovery: My mom was curious about my art classes when I was in eighth grade so she joined my figure drawing class on Saturdays. Which was interesting, staring at fully nude males next to my mom at fourteen years old. I went off to college and she dedicated herself to figure drawing, then she moved onto watercolor, which graduated her to acrylic, and then at last, oil paint. I came back over winter break and she had become this true visionary. It was incredible to see. She never knew she had this talent until she was 55. We used to go to one another a lot in these years with questions like, “do you think the shading under the chin should be a touch lighter?” Or “I feel like it’s not done. Or is it done?” Now she really knows when something is finished or when a shade is not right. We completely admire each other.

bare: do folks commission your animal portraits or do you sometimes ask? what's your usual process? are you a huge animal lover?

SS: I LOVE animals so much.I had never felt a loss like when I lost my step-pitbull Poncho in 2016. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and everyone just kept bringing up “Rainbow Bridge” and I didn’t want to hear about Rainbow Bridge, I just wanted Poncho back. So I started painting portraits of Poncho in 2020 and I felt him come alive on the page. I then began doing them for friends and family, until word of mouth led to a larger volume so I needed to set up a website. One of my earliest dates with Harry (again, lockdown) was creating my website, “By Sashy.” I still do so many portraits, yes one can commission via Harry and my fourth date creation www.bysashy.com. I absolutely adore doing it. And for those who have lost pets, I feel so honored to be the one to re-animate them, just as I did with my own.

bare: aside from your superb voice and brush strokes what are some favorite passions and pastimes?

SS: Thank you! I’m blushing.”Blush strokes.” Pastimes? knitting (haven't done in a while) reading, watching movies. Boxing? Perfume. I go through hyper fixations often which I sort of equate to “passions.” So yes, matcha, perfume, vintage, slime, building dollhouses, fake replica food from Japan…

top: *Batsheva‍ ‍*skirt: Zoë *Bleu Arquette*

bare: your personal style is so rad. can you describe it? also when did your love of vintage begin?

SS: Well thank you! If we go way, way back, as a kid, I was shown movies from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Anytime a beautiful woman in a beautiful gown would appear onscreen, I’d grab my dad’s arm and point to her and say, “That’s me!!” I wanted to be the beautiful woman in the beautiful gown. But then another beautiful actress in a totally different gown would come on screen and I’d say “Wait, no- THAT’S me.” And so on, and so on, I short circuited during ensemble scenes. I wanted to be all these women in all these gowns. And then I got to college and realized I could be! There was this one vintage shop called Foreign Affair in Providence, RI. That is really where I explored.

bare: describe wearing batsheva and zoë's designs for our shoot and what you love about their creations?

SS: Zoë designs her clothing like a painter. I feel like I’m wearing real life brush strokes. Her dresses almost align with how I paint with watercolor. Batsheva, I love the whimsical, Victorian colorful designs she plays with.

bare: please list your top 5 bare essentials (you couldn't imagine life without.)

SS: Besides the actual bare essentials like food, water, shelter?

Harry
Soft pajamas
A heating pad
Matcha
My 1509 perfume oil (I’m a Taurus sun, Taurus rising, Capricorn moon so this should all make sense.)

photos/makeup: Tina Turnbow

shot at batsheva’s boutique in nyc

Sasha Spielberg

Caroline Arapoglou